Kung Fu Panda: Dark-Bright 2
by Ace-Risk
Summary: 5 Years have passed since the Dragon Warrior defeated the Tyrant; Akuma. In those 5 years, he has lived happily and peacefully with his new family. Though in this time of peace, it is easy to forget about what threatens it. Soon, Po and his family will face a hardship that none of them could prepare for. Sequel to Kung Fu Panda: Dark-Bright. Chapter 14 is out!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi readers! This is the long awaited sequel to my first fanfic: Dark-Bright. If you have not yet read my first fic, I recommend you read it before this as there are many spoilers and not to mention, it would be hard to understand. With all that out of the way, our story begins nearly 5 years after the events of Dark-Bright.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda**

Kung Fu Panda: Dark-Bright 2

Written by: Ace_Risk

Chapter 1

Daddy's Little Girl

The Valley of Peace, for nearly centuries this beautiful region of China had remained one of the most prosperous locations in the country, as the name implied. Of course there were setbacks, with the occasional bandit raids, the fury of a maniacal Snow Leopard, the wrath of a powerful demon, and also the odd psychotic spirit Warrior intent on revenge. The most recent event being the threat of invasion by a tyrant named Akuma, however, even this great threat had ultimately been driven away from the valley. Throughout the centuries, no evil entity had ever managed to conquer the valley of peace and this trend would continue…

Or would it?

 **On the Top of Jade Mountain, in the Jade Palace Student Barracks**

A quiet and peaceful morning brought the rays of the sun from the east of the Valley of Peace. They shun through the high peaks of the Himalayan mountains and began to fill the land with light signifying the arrival of a new day.

High atop Jade Mountain rested the Jade Palace; a large extravagant temple which was the home of the renowned Kung Fu Masters of the Valley of Peace. Ever since it's construction hundreds of years ago, this building had held many memories and had endless pours of knowledge behind its walls.

The day began very quietly, with only the sound of the wind and some stray leaves blowing across the mountains, however, that was about to change…

"WAKE UP DADDY! IT'S BIG BROTHER'S BIRTHDAY TODAY! WE CAN'T BE LATE!"

Shouted an excited and youthful Cub. Their voice was full of enthusiasm and innocence and it had the right effect. For Po opened his eyes and looked up to see a cheerful female Tiger Cub standing over top of him and trying to get his attention. "Ugghh...Five more minutes Mariko..." The Panda groaned as he rolled over to try and get more sleep.

But he wouldn't get off so easily, for the cub continued, "Aw come on Daddy! I want to surprise Big Brother today since it's his tenth birthday! Remember!?" At this Po looked to the other side of his bed at his wife who was also awoken by the excited Cub, "What does one have to do to sleep peacefully..." Po said sarcastically with a hint of annoyance in his voice. Tigress looked back at him and replied, "Well, you did promise her you would take her to the noodle shop to surprise Hao early in the morning. Don't act like you didn't bring this on yourself Po." They then heard the Cub beg, "Please Daddy?" Po looked up at his daughter's adorable jade green eyes and couldn't resist her cuteness, so he gave in and sighed as he replied, "Alright sweetheart."

"YAY! Let's go right now! I don't want to get there too late!" Mariko said as she got off the bed and began to run out the door towards her room. Po chuckled and he looked over at his wife who also had a smile on her face, "She takes after her father." Tigress said as she stared into Po's Jade eyes. "I love you." He said, and then he kissed her on the cheek and got out of bed. He walked over towards his dresser and took out his outfit for the day; an elegant green Chinese tunic with a pair of black slacks and his signature golden dragon cloak. He placed the garments on and left the room to go follow his daughter.

As he strolled down the hallway of the student barracks, Po passed by all the rooms which housed his best friends; the furious five. They most likely were still asleep or at the most waking up as it was very early in the morning. As he passed by the rooms, he heard chatter coming from Master Crane's room. He peeked in and saw his daughter talking to the avian as well as Master Viper. Mariko was wearing a beautiful pink Chinese vest with silver trim and black slacks which she had inherited from her mother. The vest however, had been gifted to her by her aunt and godmother; Master Viper. It was then that the three noticed Po watching them, "Oh! Good morning Po!" Both Viper and Crane said simultaneously to the Panda. "Good morning Crane, good morning Viper." He replied respectfully as he entered the room.

"Alright Mariko, are you ready to go?" He asked his daughter. "I'm ready Daddy! But can auntie Viper and Master Crane come too?" She asked in an innocent tone of voice. Po shrugged his shoulders and answered, "I don't see why not." Po answered with a smile. "Yay! Thanks Daddy!" The Cub said while jumping out of excitement. She then continued, "What are we waiting for!? Let's go!" She then ran out of the room behind her father towards the exit. Po folded his arms and shook his head at his daughters adorable behavior.

"She's a true sweetheart Po, you and Tigress should be proud." Viper said as she slithered up towards the Panda with Crane following right behind her. Po looked down at the snake and replied, "Thank you Viper, she's learned so much from you and Crane, and I am grateful for that." The Snake nodded and responded, "She really takes after you, you know." Po also nodded and finished, "I know."

"Hey Mamma! Do you know where Genji is? I haven't seen him all morning!" The female Cub asked as she entered her parent's room again. "I don't know sweetheart, try the training hall." Tigress replied to her daughter as she too began to rise from bed. Mariko then took off saying, "Okay, thanks Mamma!" And then she left towards the training hall. Tigress shook her head and thought, 'She has so much of her father in her.'

Mariko made her way over to the training hall where sure enough, there were loud sounds emanating from the building. She opened the doors and heard the sounds more clearly, they were the sounds of another Tiger Cub striking a wooden training dummy. It was her twin brother; Genji. He wore a similar vest to hers, only it was colored black instead. And he looked like your average Tiger cub, with defined black stripes and orange and white fur colors, however, he also had distinguished black fur patches which surrounded his eyes, much like she did. This was something that they had each inherited from their father. A cross-breed between Panda and Tiger had never been heard of in the entire country, nay, the world. So these two Cubs were definitely what one would call 'exotic'.

As Mariko watched her brother strike the wooden figure, she noticed how every time he hit the object it emitted splinters and shards of wood as it's structure weakened. She tried to get his attention, "Hey Genji!" But Genji seemed to ignore her, paying no attention to her whatsoever. She then tried again, but louder this time, "HEY GENJI!" This seemed to get his attention as he glanced over in her direction. Besides his larger stature, his eyes were one of the only visible differences between the two, his were a type of amber color like his mother's, while hers were jade green like her father's. Another thing that was different about the two, was how Mariko always neatly styled her fur, while Genji's fur was much more messy and always seemed to droop down.

"What!" He snapped in an annoyed tone as he looked at his older sister (by only 2 minutes). She seemed startled by his aggressive behavior and she took a small step back in fear. She then replied in a nervous tone, "I-I was j-just asking if you want to come down to celebrate Hao's birthday." She stuttered. Genji turned up his nose and answered in a cold and snarky tone, "No."

"But-" She tried before he interrupted her.

"Leave me alone! I'm busy training!"

Upon saying this, Genji emitted a loud growl which scarred his sister and made her shudder from fear. She then took the hint and left the training hall, closing the doors behind her.

As she closed the doors, Mariko began to hear the sounds of her brother hitting the wooden training dummy return. She looked back at the building with a sad face on and then she proceeded to return to the student barracks.

'She's gonna waste her time celebrating the birthday of someone who isn't even really related to us, while I'm going to train to beat and surpass her! And when I defeat her, Mom and Dad will finally be proud of me!' Genji thought to himself as he began to strike the wooden dummy with all of his might.

Mariko returned to the student barracks and walked towards the dinning room where she heard voices talking. When she arrived at the dinning room, she peeked inside and saw both her parents, and all the furious five seated and eating breakfast at the dining table. She then entered and was greeted by Mantis and Monkey who each said simultaneously, "Look who it is! Good morning Mariko!" She looked towards them and replied, "Good morning Master Monkey! Good morning master Mantis!"

The Cub then found a seat next to her mother and waited to be served a bowl of noodle soup which Po was preparing. As she sat down, Mariko heard Crane ask, "So Mariko! Are you excited about your big brother turning ten today?" To this Mariko nodded and replied enthusiastically, "You bet! I've even made him a present that I'm going to give him as a surprise!" All the Masters looked at each other with smiles and Monkey asked her, "What kind of present?"

Mariko's face lit up and she quickly got up from her seat and rushed off towards her room, then she swiftly got back carrying something in her paws. It was a wooden soup ladle. "I spent the last year carving this for big brother! I hope he'll like it!" She explained to everyone as she showed them all the ladle which she had hand carved over the last year. Normally, children would make mistakes when making such projects, but not Mariko, she had excellent artistic talent and a great attention to detail. The Ladle looked like it had been carved by a professional, it was perfectly sanded and smooth, and it had been carved out of wood from a small branch of the peach tree of heavenly wisdom. On it were multiple chiseled Chinese characters that read, _'_ _ **大哥哥**_ _'_ _(Big Brother)_

"I made most of the thing myself, but Master Crane helped me to inscribe the characters!" At this, Master Crane nodded in satisfaction at being able to help the Cub. All the Masters seemed impressed by the Cub's job on the ladle. "It looks excellent Mariko! I'm sure Hao will love it!" Viper said generously, to which everyone else agreed.

"Order up!"

Po said as he placed the 7 bowls of noodle soup on the table, everyone grabbed a bowl and began to dig in to the delicious noodle soup which the Panda had just cooked. Everyone began to thank the Panda for his excellent food.

After a couple of minutes everyone had nearly finished their meals, everyone except Mariko. She stared at a wall and twirled her spoon in the still warm soup, it would seem like she was lost in thought, and she was. "Is everything alright sweetheart?" Tigress asked her daughter as she noticed she wasn't finishing her meal. This seemed to snap the female Tiger Cub out of her daze and she shook her head and asked, "Mamma, I asked Genji if he wanted to come to celebrate Hao's birthday with the rest of us, but he didn't want to. Why doesn't he want to?" Tigress looked over to Po with a worried expression to which he returned, she then answered, "I don't know sweetheart, but why don't you and the others head down to the village. I will go talk to Genji."

So Mariko got up from her chair and went to leave the dinning room but before she could she heard her mother say, "AFTER you finish eating your soup!" The Cub obeyed her mother and got back on her chair to finish her soup with the rest of the Masters.

After Mariko finished her meal, her, her father, and the rest of the Furious Five departed towards the noodle shop in the village. Leaving Tigress behind who was now headed towards the training hall to talk to her youngest son.

Tigress opened the doors of the training hall to find that Genji was still inside, and still training hard. Right now he was busy doing all sorts of strength conditioning training exercises such as push ups and pull ups. And though he was only a five year old Cub, he was incredibly strong for his size and age, he was perhaps even stronger than his mother was at that age.

"Genji..." Tigress said as she watched the Cub train. Upon hearing his mother's voice, Genji turned to face her. It was obvious to Tigress that he was sweating, and from the look on the Cub's face she could tell that he was physically tired. He was breathing hard and he was bleeding from several areas on each of his paws, he was trying to pass his limits again…

"Yes, Mother?" He asked as he caught his breath. Tigress had an expression of pure worry about her, seeing her son like this was not a happy sight for say. "Genji, why are you training when everyone, your father, and even your sister are going to have fun celebrating Hao's birthday?" She asked as she approached the Cub and knelt down beside him. The Cub fell silent at the question and instead folded his arms in a way that made him look aggravated. This didn't help to ease Tigress' mood, "What's wrong?" She asked with an obvious amount of worry in her voice.

"Nothing's wrong Mom." Genji stated while not looking his mother in the eye, and with very little emotion in his voice. "I know something's bothering you sweetie, it's alright, you can tell me." Tigress said reassuringly to her distraught son while reaching out and holding his bloody paws. She noticed that there were many wooden splinters and sharp shards of metal lodged in his paws which were causing the bleeding. 'He's been hitting those training dummies again hasn't he.' She thought to herself.

But instead of a straight answer, the Cub broke out crying and sobbing into his Mom's neck, to which she was not expecting. But she did her best to comfort him, wrapping her arms around him and embracing him like the loving mother she was. As he whimpered and cried into her neck fur, Tigress tried to calm the Cub down, "Shh, its okay sweetie." She said in a comforting tone as she embraced the emotional Cub.

"Why is Mariko always better than me at everything! Why does she always beat me!? Why am I inferior!?" The Cub began to rant as he continued to cry into his mother's neck, his voice was muffled since his face was pressed against his mother's neck, but she could still hear him just fine. But she wasn't happy with what the Cub was saying. She continued to embrace him and rock him from side to side slowly to calm him down. And it eventually worked, as Genji began to settle down and come back to reality.

"Is this what's been bothering you Genji?" Tigress asked her son as she pressed her paws against his cheeks and looked him in the eyes. He stayed silent but he nodded in approval with the remnants of tears in his eyes. Tigress frowned but replied with a tone which sounded hopeful, "Genji...A wise person once said, ' **Comparison is the thief of joy** '." The Cub raised an eyebrow and snapped, "What's that supposed to mean?" Tigress now began to smile as she explained to her son, "It means you shouldn't compare yourself to your sister, or anyone else. You are yourself, and there are plenty of things you can do that others cannot. And I love you for you, Genji." She said and then embraced her son in another warm and tender hug.

"But...Mariko is smarter than me! She's more creative than me...And she's even a better fighter than me!" Genji continued to rant as he hung his head in shame. Tigress would have none of this though and she lifted her son's chin with her paw and told him, "That's just how you're perceiving it, in reality, you are just as smart and creative as anyone else, if not more." "You really think so Mom?" He asked genuinely. To which Tigress nodded and finished, "Yes, I do. Now come on, let's go get those splinters removed and patched up. I think you've had enough training for the day." And with this, Tigress took her Son towards the Palace infirmary to get the Cub's hands bandaged up.

 **At the Bottom of the 1000 Stairs**

"Daddy...Why does Genji not like me sometimes?" Mariko asked her father who carried her on his shoulders towards the noodle shop. Po looked up at the Cub and sighed as he answered, "Mariko, neither I nor your Mother have told you this, but your brother has always been extremely competitive. Especially towards you. You may not remember, but when you were both born, he constantly fought to get fed more often than you. He's always been that way." Mariko frowned at the answer her father gave. But Po continued, "I just want you to know that it is not your fault that he feels that way."

Mariko still frowned, as she thought about reasons why her younger brother despised her. It wasn't like she had done anything to upset him? Was it?

But before she could pursue anymore thoughts, Po noticed her glum expression and said, "Hey, cheer up kiddo! We're almost at the noodle shop! And I'm sure Hao wouldn't want to see his sister in such a mood." Then a smile formed on the female Cub's face as she replied, "Right! I want Big Brother to be as happy as possible on his birthday!" Po also smiled as he replied, "That's the spirit!"

The rest of the Furious Five had also been following along, but none had said anything until Mantis remarked, "There's that smell I love!" As they neared the noodle shop where the fragrance of Hao's noodle soup came from. As the seven approached the noodle shop, they peeked inside to see that it was nearly empty, with no customers at all. This was a rarity as Mr Ping would almost never close his shop, he would usually never turn down customers. But when they looked inside the shop, the noticed that Hao, Mr Ping, Lee Shan and Master Shifu were all seated at a table whilst playing a game of Mahjong. They then proceeded to enter the shop through the round door.

Mariko also noticed both her Grandfathers and her big brother at the table so she got off her father's back and excitedly exclaimed, "Grandpa Ping! Grandpa Shifu! Grandpa Shan!" The three turned their heads and Mr Ping, Lee, and Shifu began to chuckle as their granddaughter ran up and hugged them. Since the two were both relatively small animals, she was able to hug them both at the same. Then Lee got off his chair and also brought the Cub into a hug. "It's so good to see you again Grandpa Ping! And you too Grandpa Shan!" She remarked as the elder Panda let her down. The two both chuckled at their granddaughter's excitement upon seeing them again, they both replied in unison, "Look at you! You've really grown since the last time you were here!" Mariko nodded her head and said, "Have I? I guess it's been a while since I've been down at the shop."

Just then, she noticed her big brother Hao walk out from behind the grandfathers and wave as he said, "Hi there Mari!" This was his nickname which he used to address his younger sister, and she didn't mind it at all. "Big Brother!" She happily said as she ran up to hug her White Tiger brother. Hao began to laugh as his younger sister embraced him. He had grown quite a lot over the last five years, and he was much taller than her so he had to bend down a bit to be at eye level with her. She then released him and asked, "Hey, can you close your eyes for a second? And also hold out your paws?" Hao looked down at his sister and he did as she asked. Mariko then took the ladle which she had kept on her small back pack and placed it in her brothers paws. "Okay, you can open your eyes now!" She excitedly announced.

Upon opening his eyes, Hao saw a brilliant hand carved wooden soup ladle with engravings reading 'big brother'. The young white Tiger's face lit up with joy, and he began to hug his sister again saying, "Thanks so much Mari! This is exactly what I wanted! Did you make this all by yourself?" She nodded, "Mmhhmm!" Hao then set his sister down and said, "This was so thoughtful of you Mari, I will always treasure it." This greatly satisfied the female Cub as she continued, "I'm glad you like it Big Brother!"

Shortly after the heartfelt reunion, Shifu, Ping and Hao each invited Mariko to play Mahjong with them, of course being the enthusiastic child she was, she gladly accepted. Although since she had never played Mahjong before, it was not quite as easy as she would have thought, but nonetheless, she enjoyed herself all the same as the other Masters watched happily while chatting about various subjects.

After the games of Mahjong, Po excused himself from the setting and took Mariko out of the shop with him to be alone for a moment. He then told her, "Mariko, I just want you to know, that was one of the most generous things I've ever seen you do for someone else. And I am very proud of you." The female Cub just rubbed the back of her head and humbly replied, "Thanks Daddy! I'd do anything to make Big Brother happy!" Po looked down at his daughter and he thought to himself, 'How was I this fortunate to receive this blessing?' He then continued, "You've matured a lot lately, which is why I'd like to take you on a trip." The young cub's eyes lit up from this and she asked, "A trip? To where?" Po began to smile knowing that what he'd say next would surprise the Cub,

"To the Emperor's Palace."

A/N: Alright, so maybe I published this chapter a little earlier than expected...But what the heck! I have had this idea in my head for months now and I finally get to let it out! The next chapter will be out shortly! If you enjoyed this chapter and would like to read more, Favorite, and Follow the story! And if you'd like to post some feedback,

Review!

Thanks.

-Ace_Risk


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Emperor

The Next day, Mariko woke up bright and early much like the day before, only this time she was even more excited thanks to what her father had promised her the day before. She then went over to her twin brother's room right next to hers and opened his door to find that he was still sleeping.

"Hey Genji! Guess what!" She shouted as she woke her twin brother up from his sleep. The male cub rolled over away from his sister in an attempt to try to ignore her, "Not interested." He mumbled in an annoyed tone. Mariko frowned at her brother's lack of enthusiasm, and she decided not to bother him any further, so she left and closed the door behind her.

As his sister left, Genji thought, 'Whatever it is, I could care less...' But what the Cub would soon realize was that this wasn't such a frivolous matter.

On her way out, Mariko looked back and thought, 'Why do you dislike me so much brother? What do I have to do for you to stop hating me?' She then closed the door and headed back to her room with much less excitement than before, albeit thanks to her brother's neglect.

Once she got back to her room, she closed the door behind her and began to pick things out for the long journey which her and her father would soon partake. She packed multiple different pairs of clothing, each of which were her favorites and the most special to her. She also packed many of her art supplies such as her favorite brushes and utensils, inks, and also some of the unique scrolls and painting surfaces she had. Lastly, she packed her favorite necklace. This necklace had been gifted to her by her mother the year before on her birthday, it was a magnificently crafted silver chain necklace with a very vibrant small emerald gem festoon which reflected her color of eyes, and also her personality.

But before she could pack the necklace neatly in her bag, she heard a voice behind her say, "I think you should wear it instead of packing it." Mariko was almost startled by the sudden interruption and she jumped in surprise whilst accidentally tossing the necklace into the air. But before it hit the ground, it was caught by a green tail. "I'm sorry Auntie Viper!" Mariko ranted as she hung her head in shame at her clumsiness. Viper simply raised an eyebrow and replied to the embarrassed Cub, "You don't need to be sorry Sweetheart, I simply think that the necklace would look good on you while you're on your way to the Imperial Palace." The reptilian then proceeded to place the necklace over the female Cub's neck. "See?" Viper asked. Mariko looked in the mirror of her room and noticed how like her Aunt said, she did look much nicer with the necklace on.

The combination of her nice pink and silver vest, the necklace, and her well styled fur (which she had just done before Viper had entered) made for a very beautiful young female Tiger Cub. As she looked at herself in the mirror, Mariko heard viper remark, "It makes you look like a Princess. And a very beautiful Princess at that." Mariko blushed at the compliment and replied with a question, "Thank you Auntie Viper! But don't princesses wear crowns?" At this, Viper replied, "Maybe, but that doesn't mean you can't someday be a Princess...Or maybe...An Empress?" She ended with a tone that sounded like a question, Mariko seemed confused and she asked, "What do you mean Auntie Viper?" Viper giggled and replied, "Never mind Sweetheart, now come with me, I have something to give you before your trip."

And So the female Cub followed her godmother to the reptilian master's room where she noticed all the decorations in Viper's room. Viper kept many memoirs and displays in her room, most of which were ribbons from when she used to ribbon dance before coming to the Jade Palace. Others were paintings and etchings of portraits with her and her family in them. Mariko then noticed Viper take something out of her drawer, a beautiful pink flower bulb of some kind. "Do you know what it is?" Viper asked the curious Cub. Mariko shook her head in denial. "It's called a Lotus Blossom." She said in a mellow tone and allowing Mariko to observe the beautiful pink flower bulb. Then without warning, Viper placed the Lotus Blossom onto the right side of the Cub's left ear, much resembling how she always wore Lotus Blossoms on her head. "Now take a look." Viper asked her niece as she turned the Cub around to face the mirror in her room.

"It looks great Auntie Viper! Thank you!" Mariko said as she looked at her new appearance through the mirror. The flower bulb was quite a cute add on to an already beautiful young female Cub. 'She has her Mother's natural good looks.' Viper thought as she watched the Cub look at herself in the mirror. But before Viper could say anything more, the two heard someone knocking on the serpent's door. "Come in." Viper said out loud so whoever it was could hear her. And sure enough, the door opened to reveal Po, who wore a much flashier green tunic today, this one had gold trim, much like Mariko's vest. But he still wore his elegant golden cloak and black slacks as usual. "Good morning kiddo! Are you ready for our big trip?" The Panda asked his daughter as he knelt down to be at eye level with her. "I sure am Daddy! Auntie Viper was just helping me to pack! She even gave me this!" The young Cub excitedly said as she referred to the pink lotus blossom on her ear which Viper had just given her.

Po looked at his daughter and thought, 'She has no idea that her own father is named after that bulb. And she wears it like a champ. Her good looks definitely come from Tigress-' "Is everything alright Daddy?" Mariko asked, interrupting Po from his train of thought. He shook his head to get out of his daze and answered, "Oh! Yeah! Everything's just fine Mariko...I was just...Thinking..." He then continued, "Anyway, why don't we have go have breakfast before we leave?" To which Mariko nodded and followed her father out of the room, but before she left, she gave Viper one last wave goodbye before her and her father would depart on their journey. To which Viper winked at her Niece and mouthed the words; 'Have fun!'

 **Not Long After**

Genji had just woken up from a much needed long slumber, courtesy of his exhausting training the day prior. But even though he had been fatigued the day before, he hardly felt the effects today. So he decided that since he was feeling alright, he would go train some more to keep pushing his limits and one day best his sister in a sparing match. He slid on his training clothes being his black vest and slacks and headed out his door towards the training hall.

But before he could get far, he heard a voice call, "Where do you think you're going young man?" He stopped in his tracks, and without looking back to face the person, he answered coldly, "To train, Mother." Tigress would have none of this though, it had been a while since the Cub had last had a decent meal, so she put her foot down, "Your training will have to wait, for now you need to give your body the strength it needs. No one should train on an empty stomach." Genji then reluctantly followed his mother towards the dining hall.

When he arrived however, he was not satisfied to see that his sister was already seated at the dining table and was nearly finished a fresh bowl of dumplings which his father had prepared. He grumbled from under his teeth, which didn't go unnoticed by his mother who had watched his expression turn more sour since he saw his sister. Just then, Mariko noticed the two walk in, "Mamma! She said happily whilst running over to her Mom and hugging Tigress' legs since she was so much smaller. Tigress bent down and picked her daughter up, effectively bringing her at eye level, "Good morning sweetheart! How was Hao's birthday yesterday? Did he enjoy the gift you made for him?" She asked as she hadn't spoken to the Cub since the day before. "It was great Mamma! Hao really loved the gift I made him! He says he'll always treasure it! Oh! And guess what!? I learned how to play Mahjong too!" The Cub rambled, quite literally summing up the entire day.

During all of this, Genji did his best to tune his sister out while he went to go get himself some tofu cubes to eat. He didn't understand why his sister always seemed to get under his skin. Was it her constant happiness? Or maybe the fact that his parents paid more attention to her? Or was it the fact that she always seemed to be one step ahead of him without dedicating all her time to her training like he regardless of whatever the reason was, he tried his best to ignore his sister's smug attitude and demeanor, so he began to eat the tofu cubes by himself.

Both Po and Tigress noticed this, but before Po could say anything to his son, Mariko spoke up, "Oh, and Mamma! Daddy and I are going on a big trip today!" Tigress already knew this, but she played along anyway. "Really? Where are you and Daddy going?" Tigress asked while pretending to be clueless. The Cub then replied sounding very excited,

"We're going to the Emperors Palace in Bejing!"

At this, the once quiet Genji accidentally snapped his chopsticks and interrupted, "WHAT!?" Everyone else in the room looked over to the Cub who had made a big scene, "What do you mean you're going to the Emperor's Palace!?" He asked in a slightly aggravated tone whilst getting up from his chair. "Why didn't anyone tell me!?" The irritated Cub asked. Po stepped in and answered, "Nobody told you because you're not coming."

The Cub's facial expression changed from one of anger to one of pure disbelief and betrayal. "Wait what? Why not!?" He asked trying to imply that this was unfair. Po frowned at his son's disrespectful behavior and answered, "Because you refused to show up to your own brother's birthday yesterday, you haven't been behaving well lately, and also for the way you've been treating your sister." The room fell silent after the Panda's statement, but not until Genji argued, "That's not fair! Why do you always pick Mariko before me!?" Po was really disappointed in his youngest son right now, "I'm sorry Genji, but you need to spend your time here and think about your actions. When you show me you can-" But before Po could finish, Genji cut his Dad off, "Hao isn't even really related to us! Why should I have to celebrate his birthday!?" The entire room fell silent again, mostly because of the Cub's condescending and self-entitled rant. "Genji!" Tigress shouted in shock of how rude her son had just been. But before she could scold the Cub further, he ran off. Tigress looked at Po with a face that looked very worried but also very shocked at what had just happened.

"Wait! Genji!" Tigress called as she ran to catch up to the angry Cub, leaving Po and Mariko behind to contemplate what the Cub had said. "Daddy? Does Genji really mean those things?" Mariko asked with a hint of fear in her voice. Po looked down at her but didn't reply, in truth he didn't have an answer for her.

Meanwhile, Tigress pursued her youngest Son with the intent on speaking to him about his rude and condescending behavior. But when she checked the training hall where he would spend most of his time, he was nowhere to be found. He couldn't have been at his room since she had already checked there. There was only one place she could think to look, the peach tree.

She shortly arrived at the summit of the peak where stood the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, and sure enough she began to hear sounds that resembled sobbing. Though she could not see him yet, she definitely knew it was Genji. As she approached the tree, the sounds began to get louder. When she turned around the tree, she found the Cub scrunched up against the tree holding his knees in his arms and crying. It nearly broke her heart to see her son this way, "Genji?" She asked to try and get her Cub's attention. "What do you want Mother?" He asked while still whimpering because of his emotional state. Tigress frowned but continued, "I just wanted to talk to you sweetie." He didn't seem interested in talking at the moment, and he replied, "I don't wanna talk to anyone! I just want to be left alone!"

Tigress was taken back by her Son's statement in his anger, "Sweetie I just-" But before she could finish, Genji interrupted, "Why do you and father always take Mariko's side!?" This didn't make Tigress happy, she hadn't always been known for being the most patient, but when it came to her children, she would almost always give them the benefit of the doubt. But in this situation Genji was really testing her patience, "Genji, how can you say that? Your father and I love you from the bottom of our hearts." The Cub didn't seem satisfied with this answer, and he talked back, "Then why does father always pay more attention to her! Its not like he takes me on trips to see the Emperor! And he never helps to train me! It's always you!"

Tigress couldn't help but frown at the Cub's rant and she opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. "That's what I thought! He has always loved Mariko more than me! She'll always be his favorite!"

 **Meanwhile With Mariko and Po**

Po and his daughter had all the while been traveling down the steps of the Jade Palace where they were making their way out of town and into the expansive bamboo forest paths. "Daddy?" Mariko asked her father. "Yes sweetheart?" Mariko then continued, "I wish Genji could have come with us..." Po looked down at his daughter and didn't seem to have a response for her again. Anything concerning his youngest son seemed to be a difficult issue lately, and though he felt that he had done the right thing by making the Cub stay at the Jade Palace, he couldn't help but feel guilty upon reminiscing Genji's harsh words; 'Why do you always pick Mariko before me!?' He still felt his decision to leave the Cub back was the right one, but he was now seeing many of the detrimental effects it was going to have on his son.

 **Nearly 6 Hours Later in the Capital City of Beijing**

The trip to Beijing would have been made much longer, but thanks to Po finding multiple trade carts along the way, him and Mariko arrived at the capital city much faster. The traders were all delighted to see the Dragon Warrior and volunteered to give him and his daughter an escort directly to the city.

Now that they had finally arrived at their destination, Mariko began to realize just how big this city really was. The Valley of Peace was a relatively large village, but Beijing completely dwarfed it. Not only this, but the buildings and architecture were much larger and much more luxurious than those in the village in the Valley of Peace. There were also way more citizens, in fact there were so many people roaming about that there was hardly any space to move around. "Stay close Mariko, you could get lost very easily here." Po told the Cub as they entered the marketplace. This was not the first time Po had been here, in fact he had come to the city nearly 5 years ago to meet the Emperor, and during his time here he had gotten his wife's wedding ring with the help of the Emperor himself.

"Okay Daddy." The Cub responded and then proceeded to follow her father through the busy marketplace. It was an arduous task, but she managed to follow him through the massive crowd without getting lost. Po looked down at her and he said, "Alright, come on, the Emperors Palace is right this way." At this, Mariko became a bit more excited, but at the same time she began to get a bit nervous. To her, meeting the Emperor was an amazing opportunity, but she had never met Emperor before and didn't know what to expect. Would he be nice? Or would he be intimidating.

As they continued on, Mariko began to see a massive building which looked similar to the Jade Palace, only it was nearly 5 times the size. "Daddy? Is that the Emperor's Palace?" She asked while pointing at the humongous building. "It sure is Kiddo." Po answered with a smile. "Wow! It's so big! I wonder how many floors there are!" She stated as her imagination began to go wild. Po simply chuckled at his daughter's enthusiasm, 'I remember when I used to be like her...' He thought happily.

When the two arrived near the building, they began to see many imperial guards and soldiers. This was due to the high degree of security which was required to keep the Emperor safe, from Rhinos, Bulls, and also Boars, the soldiers were all very strong and fit for the job. They kept on their way until they reached the large gates which separated the Palace with the rest of the city around it. At the gates there were several Rhino guards stationed for sentry duty, each of which were highly decorated with much more expensive looking armor. "Halt! None are permitted past this gate! Unless they have an audience with the Emperor." One of the guards spoke with conviction. Po smiled and replied, "We do, I'm the Dragon Warrior of the Valley of Peace, and this is my daughter Mariko. I am here to discuss a matter with Emperor Xiong." Po then pulled out his Jade staff as confirmation of his status. The guards seemed surprised by Po's statement and the one who spoke earlier immediately apologized, "Oh! My apologies sir! You are always welcome here, please proceed." Po nodded and patted the guard on the shoulder saying, "It's no problem, thank you for your understanding." And with this, Po and Mariko proceeded to enter through the open gates towards the tower. "Hey! Hardfoot! I just got a pat on the back by the Dragon Warrior!" The guard secretly boasted to the other guard. "Shh! We have to stay on duty! Pull yourself together!" The other guard scolded him. "Oh...Right." The guard said while regaining his composure.

Po and Mariko entered the massive tower and the Cub immediately saw just how big the building was on the inside. With rooms at just about every corner and many well decorated walls and ceiling fixtures. But the thing that stood out the most was the massive spiral staircase in the center of the building. "Wow!" The Cub exclaimed as she admired the amazing architecture of the building. Po looked down at her and answered, "Just wait until we get to the top of the building Kiddo." Mariko was excited to get to the top of the building, but also nervous at the same time. "Daddy? I don't think I'll be able to make it up all those steps..." She said while looking up the dozens of floors above. "Don't worry Sweetheart I'll carry you up if you get tired." And with this, the two began their ascent to the top.

Not long after, Mariko did eventually get tired and Po had to carry her up the rest of the way, however, for a Cub her size she had managed to get quite far. Now they were nearly at the top when Mariko asked, "Daddy? What is the Emperor like?" At this Po raised a brow and asked, "What do you mean?" "Like, is he nice? I just don't know what to expect." Po simply chuckled and answered, "Don't worry Mariko, I didn't know what to expect when meeting him for the first time either. In fact, I too was a bit nervous when I first came here to meet him five years ago." Marko seemed surprised by this and she asked, "You get nervous too Daddy?" Po continued to chuckle and replied, "Of course. It's only natural for everyone to be nervous sometimes Sweetheart."

And as Po said this, the two finally reached the 30th floor of the building, you could tell it was the top floor of the building because there were no more stairs to climb, and also, it looked much more extravagant. With expensive tapestries, to gold pillars, and also engravings of Chinese Dragons in the walls, this place was unlike anything Mariko had ever seen before. "It's beautiful!" Mariko said as she admired the amazing look of the setting. "Just wait until you see the throne room." Po said as he led Mariko through the hall.

They finally arrived at a large door at the end of the hallway, it was shut and there was another Rhino guard stationed in front. "Well I'll be darned… If it isn't the Dragon Warrior!" The Guard said almost in excitement as he noticed the Panda approach. "It is good to see you again friend!" The Rhino continued as Po walked up to him. "Likewise Pingbi. It certainly has been a while." Po humbly replied to the guard who he had obviously known prior to coming to the Palace. "And who's this little one?" The Rhino asked him while looking down at the female Cub who clung to her father. Po smiled and responded, "Pingbi, this is my daughter Mariko. Mariko, this is Pingbi, one of the Emperor's personal guards." "We have so much to catch up on don't we?" The Rhino guard said. Po chuckled and replied, "Indeed, however, before any of that, is Emperor Xiong available?" At this the Guard replied, "Oh yes! I will go check, just wait here a moment." And with that, Pingbi entered the door and closed it behind him.

Po and Mariko waited for several minutes before the guard came back out, "He is ready for you, you may enter." "Thank you Pingbi." Po kindly responded, and with this, he led Mariko past the door into the room.

The room was large and open, ahead was a type of balcony which had a view of the city bellow. The same gold pillars and expensive tapestries were found, and in the absolute center, lay a golden and silver throne. But before the Cub could observe anything more, a voice called out, "Welcome back to Beijing Dragon Warrior!" The two turned to look to their side where a male Amur Leopard approached while holding his arms out. He was quite tall, almost Po's height. But what stood out the most of him was the outfit he wore, it was a metallic white toga-like robe with red and gold trim. He also had a red belt which tied up the outfit well. "It is an honor to be back, 'your highness'." Po said while hinting a bit of sarcasm. The two both had smiles and they each took a bow of respect towards one another. "So what brings you back here my friend?" The Emperor asked while resuming his normal pose. Po smiled and looked back at his daughter and answered, "We came here for me to discuss a matter with you." Po replied, to which the Emperor raised a brow and asked, "We?" At this, Po picked up his daughter who had been hiding behind him and showed her to the Leopard saying, "Myself, and my daughter Mariko."

Mariko seemed nervous to be in the presence of the Emperor of China himself. But the Emperor did not react the way she anticipated, instead he smiled and stated, "It is a pleasure to meet you Mariko, welcome to the Royal Palace of Beijing." At this Mariko weakly and nervously replied, "Pleased to meet you too sir..." The Emperor seemed to chuckle at this and he responded, there's no need for formalities little one, anyone associated with Po is held at a high esteem here. You may call me Cishan." Mariko was still a bit nervous, but was beginning to get a bit more comfortable albeit thanks to the Emperor's hospitality. "She has your eyes you know." The Emperor told Po as the Panda put his daughter back on the floor where she took a stand beside him. Po smiled and said, "I was originally planning to take her here for a day, but it's getting late. However, I still wish to discuss something with you." To this the Emperor responded, "Nonsense! I will have the servants prepare several rooms for you both, you may stay for at least a week!" Po nodded and replied "Thank you Cishan, I really appreciate this." "Of course, its the least I can do to repay all the good deeds you do for this country."

"Pingbi? Can you please show young Mariko to her room?" The Emperor called to his personal guard. The Rhino nodded and began to escort the female Cub to the door before the Emperor called, "Haokan!? Come here!" Upon hearing the call of the Emperor, a young Amur Leopard Cub arrived to the scene from the outside at the balcony. He looked around Mariko's age and wore a small blue Chinese robe with white trim. "Yes father?" The Cub asked. "You are to accompany Pingbi and Mariko, once she unpacks, I wish for you to take her on a tour of the Palace! But you are under no circumstances to leave the tower! Do you understand?" The Cub nodded his head and followed the Rhino and the female Cub. But before they left, he held his hand out to Mariko and said, "I'm Haokan, pleased to meet you." Mariko seemed curious by the Leopard Cub's behavior but she shook his hand and replied, "Pleased to meet you too, I'm Mariko."

 **A/N: Here's the second Chapter! I hope you enjoy it! It looks like Mariko is getting to know some very big faces in China! And what does she think of this new Cub on the scene? If you're enjoying this story so far, please favorite, follow and most importantly…**

 **Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Unnerving Prophecy

Once the three were out of the room, Po remarked, "I didn't know you had a son..." The Emperor turned and replied, "Yes, Haokan was born not long after you first visited here..." But instead of joy, the Emperor seemed distraught almost as if he regretted something. "You don't seem very proud though, is something the matter?" Po asked feeling concerned over the Emperor's lack of interest on the subject. "Its nothing, besides, you didn't come here to see me mope about such frivolous matters. What was it that you wanted to speak to me about again?" Po knew that there was more to this story than Cishan was letting on, but respecting the Emperor's privacy, he decided to answer the question, "Yes, I came here not only to visit, but to bring you good news." "I'm listening." The Leopard said sounding more interested.

 **Elsewhere in the Royal Palace**

"This will be your room Mistress, feel free to unpack any of your belongings, they will be quite safe here." Pingbi said as he showed Mariko the room that had been prepared for her. It was much larger than the room she occupied at the student barracks at the Jade Palace, in fact it was nearly 4 times the size. The bed instead of a small one was massive and elegant. The Cub marveled at the enormous size of the room which caught Haokan's attention, "What's the matter? Have you never seen a bedroom before?" She looked back at him and replied, "Its just that I've never seen one this big!" Pingbi chuckled and answered, "Well we always treat our guests with nothing but the best." Haokan was beginning to get impatient, "Alright, now come on and unpack your stuff so I can show you around the Tower!"

Mariko was surprised by the Leopard Cub's hastiness, but she did as she was told and unpacked her bag quickly before joining him and the Rhino guard again. "Ready to go?" Haokan asked with his arms folded. "I think so, where are we going?" She asked. "Are you okay on your own Master Haokan?" Pingbi also asked. "Yeah Pingbi, I think I can handle it." The young leopard replied to the Rhino. "Very well sir, but do remember your father's orders." And with that, Haokan nodded and Pingbi bowed before leaving to return to his post. "So, now that he's gone, would you like a tour of the Royal Tower?" Haokan asked politely to Mariko. To which she shyly nodded and began to follow the Leopard who now led the way.

 **Back at the Emperor's Quarters**

"So you're saying that the threat of the Mongols has been dealt with?" Cishan asked while looking out at the expansive city from his balcony. Po nodded and replied, "Yes, we defeated their leader in combat. And before the fight, he agreed that if we defeated him, he would withdraw his army and also vowed never to wage war on China." At this, the Emperor began to laugh as he stated, "That fool, his pride was his worst enemy, what idiot bets their entire army on a simple fight!?" Po however, didn't laugh, and instead replied, "Yes, it may have been a careless decision, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a threat of invasion." "What do you mean? Are you suggesting he would break his vow?" Po frowned and nodded in approval.

Cishan stroked his chin contemplating what to do about the matter. Just then, his personal guard Pingbi returned and bowed while saying, "My Lord, your son and the Dragon Warrior's daughter are now touring the Tower, do you have any further requests?" To which Cishan replied, "Why yes Pingbi, could you please bring the soothsayer in?" "As you wish, my Lord." And with that Pingbi left to adhere to the Emperor's wishes.

Minutes later, Pingbi returned while accompanying a short elderly female goat who wore a red robe and walked with a wooden cane. "Wow, what a coincidence it is to see you again." Po said as he recognized the goat. It was the same soothsayer who had aided him on his quest to end Lord Shen's rule of Gongmen city. The same one who predicted that he would one day defeat the maniacal peacock. " _It seems you have changed much since we last met, though I am still proud that you managed to heed the prophecy and defeated Shen._ " The Goat replied with a smile. "In what way have I changed?" Po asked with an uncertain expression. " _Well, you have lost a lot of weight..._ " She said whilst still smiling. Po also smiled back but had to ask, "And, how else have I changed?" She replied bluntly, " _Your fate has also changed…_ "

 **Down at the Bottom of the Massive Tower**

"And this is the room where they create portraits and write scrolls on boring stuff like diplomacy and history." Haokan stated as he showed Mariko one of the last sections of the Tower. He had shown her nearly all the sections of the Palace, and though she was very interested in seeing the new sights, Haokan definitely didn't seem interested. The two walked into the room and Mariko intently observed all of the stations where artists and writers worked. Some were busy writing and proof reading scrolls, and some were busy drawing portraits and other pieces of art on papers and canvases. 'I could get lost in here, there's so many possibilities!' Mariko thought as she looked at all of the amazing equipment and utensils that were being used. But before she could say anything, a voice gasped and stated, "Your Majesty! Is there anything we can do for you?" It was an adult male Rabbit who was about the same size as them. "I only came down here to give her a tour." Haokan told the Rabbit with a lack of enthusiasm. The Rabbit hadn't even noticed mariko who was by Haokan's side. "My heavens! I've never seen anyone like you Miss..?" He stated not knowing who the girl was. "My name's Mariko, I just came here today with my father." She answered while feeling a bit skeptical over the Rabbit's mannerism. "Now that is simply intriguing! Would you mind if I quickly make a portrait for you?" Mariko was surprised by the Rabbit's generosity but obliged, "Yes please!" She politely asked. "Oh, and Master Haokan, I simply must have you in this portrait as well!" The leopard Cub didn't seem so sure of this until Mariko took him by the wrist and dragged him into the area where the rabbit did his portraits. "Come on Haokan! Let's go get a portrait together!" She told him as she dragged the confused Leopard over to the stool.

 **Back at the Top of the Tower**

The elderly goat placed a clay bowl on the floor of the room. "How exactly has it changed?" Po asked with a bit of concern in his voice. " _Why don't I show you?_ " The goat added. So Po walked up to her and looked down at the bowl intent on seeing the future she would predict. But before anything else, Po heard a ripping sound, he looked down and noticed that the goat had torn off a small chunk of his black slacks. "Hey!" He exclaimed, but before he could say anything more, he felt a slight pinch as she plucked a tiny patch of fur from his arm where his sleeves were rolled up. "Ow! What's the big idea?" Po asked as he flinched from the goat pulling out the small patch of fur. " _I have foreseen things from your future, Panda. Namely, your death._ " Po's expression changed immediately from one of surprise, to one of worry. The Goat looked up with a face similar to his, " _Are you sure you want to hear it?_ " She asked skeptically as she prepared to look into the bowl for answers. Po still looked worried, but was now beginning to get a bit curious. "I-I suppose so. Let's get on with it."

And with that, the Goat took a handful of some mysterious powder-like substance and threw it into the bowl. " _I see you, you're lying on your back… There is blood everywhere… And…_ " She paused for a second before continuing, " _And you're holding your own heart in your paw… It's not beating…_ _But it is still warm..._ "

Po wasn't one who scarred easily, the only things that had ever really scarred him in his life were Tai Lung (When he was a villain), climbing up stairs (When he was out of shape), and losing his action figures of the Furious Five. But hearing this prophecy by the soothsayer had him terribly worried. And not because of how gruesome it sounded, but because it was very likely that she was right, and the prophecy was true. It had been when she predicted Shen's downfall…

Cishan, who had been listening the whole time, also had a nervous look on his face. No doubt out of concern for the future which the Soothsayer had just foretold. Po, however, was speechless. He didn't know what to make of this future, until the Soothsayer spoke up, " _But remember Panda, fate can always be changed._ _ **Nothing is set in stone**_." Although this didn't really reassure him, Po formed a weak (and also fake) smile on his face before saying, "You're right."

Emperor Cishan cleared his throat and sarcastically spoke, "Thank you for that, Soothsayer. Now, I summoned you here so that-" " _So that you_ _may_ _have_ _further_ _clarity on the threat of Mongolia?_ " The Goat finished the Leopard's sentence. "I… How did you-" Cishan asked before he was interrupted again, " _Know? Trust me Emperor Xiong, I have my ways. Now would you like to see what the future has in store for China_?" At this Cishan was quite skeptical of the Goat's inherent foresight, but he obliged, "Yes, please show us." By 'Us', he was referring to himself, and Po.

" _Very well._ " And with that, the Goat placed another mysterious powder into the bowl, but this one was different, it began to create a small visible cloud. Unlike Po's prophecy, they could see this for themselves, although it was quite blurry with very little definition. " _It seems that there is a danger, it comes from an ancient hatred among tribes and beliefs. Over time, this hatred has endured._ " Upon saying this, the cloud began to change color from gray, to crimson red. Sounds that sounded like cries and shouts of agony and pain echoed from the bowl as the figures of soldiers and families formed from black smoke amongst all the red. This most likely depicted the hatred and warmongering which the Mongolians held.

" _However, the_ _lack of unity among tribes will hinder their lust for vengeance. Until..."_ The cloud changed again, this time depicting a triangle-like figure, with figures of soldiers composing the shape. But at the top of the highest point of the triangle, a figure began to form. _"Until an individual of great power will unite the tribes against a common enemy. A dark entity who's sole intention is of vengeance and retribution for the wrongs of the past._ _ **A Demon**_ _, who's heart is as corrupted as it's mind._ " The figure at the top of the triangle looked significantly taller, bigger and stronger than the rest. But what was most noticeable of the figure, were its crimson red glowing eyes. It was however, impossible to make out what exactly the figure looked like since the image was so blurred and distorted. But the Goat continued, " _The Demon will wage war on China, and the rest of the world. But will not succeed. Ultimately, they will be betrayed by the very one who took their soul._ " And finally, the cloud of smoke evaporated just as the Soothsayer ended.

Cishan and Po each looked at one another with the same facial expression, concern. Neither could think of what to say first until the Goat spoke up, " _But it is unlikely this will happen in the near future. I believe in the next decade._ " This still didn't calm the two, as they each skeptically looked at the Goat with expressions that read, 'Are you sure?' The Goat finished, " _But remember what I said earlier Panda, nothing is set in stone. And fate can change._ " And with that, the Soothsayer left the room. The atmosphere of the room was now quiet, with neither Po, nor Cishan saying a word.

That was until Cishan started, "Do you believe her?" Po nodded his head and replied, "I do. She was already right about me once, I'm willing to bet that she's right about this as well." "So...What do we do?" Cishan asked, sounding worried and unprepared. "I think we should keep a close watch on our northern neighbors, just in case." At this, Cishan explained, "The imperial army can only get so close to the Mongols, however, the Gobi desert prevents our soldiers from wandering into their territory. The terrain is just too harsh." Po knew this, he had personally traveled across the Gobi desert in order to defeat Jian, the leader of the Mongols. "What I don't understand, however, is when she claimed that there was a lack of unity among tribes. When Tai Lung and I were at their hideout, they were united..." Each of them now stroked their chins as they pondered thoughts. "Its getting late now, I need time to think this over. Plus, you must be tired from your journey." Cishan said as he looked at the setting sun across the city. "You're right, thank you again for your hospitality Cishan, I am truly grateful." The Emperor nodded and replied, "You're very welcome my friend, now, Pingbi will escort you to your room."

 **Shortly After Dusk in Mariko's Room**

Mariko lay on the massive bed, about to drift off to sleep. It was incredibly comfortable, with the most expensive silks and cloths in the province composing the bed sheets. Right now she thought about all the things she had done that day, the journey to the Palace, seeing the crowded streets of the City, and even meeting the Emperor himself. But what occupied the most space in her mind was the Leopard Cub whom she had met that day, Haokan. In her eyes, Haokan seemed like a very humble and generous person. Though she could easily tell that something troubled the Cub, something personal which she would likely never understand. 'I wonder what it's like to be the Emperor's son. That must be awesome to have the ruler of a country as your Dad!' She thought excitedly. 'And what about that nice blue robe he wears? He also has very good manners. And not to mention, he's kind of cute...Wait...What?' Mariko blinked for a second at where her mind took her, she had never felt romantic feelings for someone else. Of course she loved her Parents, her siblings, and her other friends. But not in THAT way…

But before she could think anything more, she heard three faint knocks on her door. 'Who could it be at this hour?' She thought as she got out of bed. She then placed on her clothes and went over to the door. She began to open it until it was fully opened by the person on the other side. The person rushed into the room, pushing Mariko out of the way and then closed the door quickly and quietly. "What the-" Mariko ranted before having her mouth covered by someone's paw. Her voice was muffled as the paw was pressed against her mouth, and even though it was dark, she could still see clearly thanks to her excellent night vision. She looked up at the person's face and noticed that it was none other than Haokan. "Shhh." He whispered, as he kept his paw covering her mouth. Before she could say anything though, she heard the sound of footsteps rushing through the hall, "He probably went this way!" Said a voice from outside the door. "We'd better not make too much noise, or else Emperor Xiong is going to find out!" Said another voice. "This isn't good, Pingbi said he would probably try to escape again tonight…" "Well… Find him! He can't have gotten far!" And with that, the voices disappeared, as whoever it was in the hallway left.

Haokan looked down at Mariko who he had unintentionally pinned to the ground, "Sorry about that, I just couldn't let you alert them." The Leopard Cub said as he took his paw off her mouth and began to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment. Mariko seemed confused, and angry at the same time, "What are you doing here? And what's going on?" She ranted which made Haokan flinch. Although she normally had the calm and respectful demeanor of her father, Mariko could occasionally adopt a much more fierce and impatient approach like her mother. "Hey! Jeez, give me a break! I was just trying to get away from the guards! I didn't mean to cause any trouble!" The Leopard argued in his defense while flailing his arms up. Mariko wasn't convinced yet, "Why would you be running from the guards? Aren't you the Emperor's son?" She asked. Haokan ignored her question and walked over to the window at the edge of her room. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" She ranted, feeling offended by his negligence. He looked over his shoulder and noticed her irritation, "I'll tell you soon, for now I want to show you something."

He then opened the window of the room and looked down. It was a very long way down, from what he could tell, they were nearly 28 stories stories above ground. Haokan then went over to the wardrobe which Mariko kept her spare clothes in, he then began to move the heavy piece of furniture out of the way which began to expose what looked like a bunch of rags and fabrics which were tightly tied together which seemed to resemble a rope of sorts. "What is that?" Mariko asked whilst losing a bit of her anger. "Our way out." Haokan answered as he took the rope of tied cloths and fabrics and threw it out the window. "But I thought your father asked you not to leave the tower?" Mariko asked him. "He did." Haokan answered as he tied the other end of the rope to the led of Mariko's bed. Mariko was now quite confused, was Haokan directly disobeying his father's orders knowingly? "Wait, why are you disobeying your father? What if he finds out!?" She asked as Haokan was now preparing to climb down the rope through the window. "He won't. At least… I hope not..." And with that he began to climb down the rope, but not before asking, "Are you coming?"

Mariko walked over to the window where she saw him descending the long rope down to the city bellow. "Hey! Come back!" She said as she took after him. She then started descending the rope to follow him.

After a few minutes, the two reached the bottom of the rope, where it led to the rooftop of a small building in the city. Mariko ranted, "Hey! What are you doing!? Are you trying to get yourself in trouble!?" But the Leopard Cub didn't answer, instead he jumped down into a nearby alleyway and checked if the coast was clear. "Hey! Why do you keep ignoring-" Mariko ranted as she jumped into the alleyway beside him before having her mouth covered again by his paw. "My father never lets me out of that tower. The first time I even got to see the outside world was when I snuck out last year! And then the guards found me… Father will never let me leave. He always says, 'you're too valuable of a person to go around the streets!'" And with this, the Cub walked away towards a lit up building. Mariko stood there contemplating what he had to her. 'His Dad never lets him leave the Tower?' She thought before asking, "Hey! Where are you going?" "Just follow me." He replied bluntly.

She followed the Leopard Cub to where there was a market square which was practically empty now. It was getting late, and nearly all of the merchants and citizens were now cooped up in their houses. But there was still one store which was open, a jewelry store that was dimly lit. Mariko walked over to it and was captivated by all the expensive and beautifully crafted items. Two items in particular caught her attention, an extravagant pair of earrings of silver with small white gemstones, most likely opals. "You like those?" Haokan asked as he noticed how much she paid attention to them. "Yeah, but I don't have any money to pay for them, plus, Daddy would probably kill me if I bought those." Just then, Haokan entered the shop and began to talk to the vendor (A Snake, whose name she didn't know). She couldn't hear them speak, but she saw the vendor nod and then slither over to the case where the two earrings were held inside. The vendor allowed Haokan to take out the earrings, and in exchange, he handed her something which Mariko didn't catch. He then waved to her and exited the shop, "Here you go." He said as he handed her the earrings. Mariko didn't know what to say, or to think. This boy who she had just met today had just bought her an expensive pair of earrings right out of the blue. "well? Take them!" He said as he held them up to her. But before anything else, Haokan found himself being hugged tightly by the female Tiger Cub as she said, "Thank you so much! No one has ever been so kind to me before!" Haokan didn't know how to react and didn't want to drop the earrings so he simply said, "Uh, okay… So are you gonna take them?" And with that, she took them from his paw and placed them on her ears.

"Wow…" Haokan said without thinking as he looked at the female Tiger Cub who just placed on the earrings which he bought for her. He also didn't realize that he was now starring directly into the Cub's Jade green eyes. "What are you doing?" Mariko asked him as he starred into her eyes unknowingly. He shook his head out of his daze and recovered, "Nothing… It's nothing."

But just after he finished, the two began to hear laughter from behind them. "Well, well, well… Look what we have here!" Said a voice from behind Mariko. She turned around and saw several adult male Boars, each of which carried a scimitar blade in their hands. "Looks like two little kittens out and about during the night…" Said the other Boar. The two Cubs began to slowly retreat back as the two Boars were getting uncomfortably close. Haokan however, decided to be brave and stood up to the two, getting in front of Mariko and shielding her from them. He then told her, "Mariko! Get out of here!" To which one of the Boars laughed and mocked him, "You think you're a match for us kid!?" In truth, he wasn't, Haokan had no combat experience, much less experience in fighting off two fully grown Boars.

One of the Boars began to approach quickly, and he raised his Scimitar to slash the Leopard Cub, but when he brought the blade down on his target, it was stopped. "I am." Mariko answered as she gracefully caught the blade with her paw and just narrowly stopping it from slicing Haokan. "What!? That's not possible!" The Boar ranted in disbelief. "You won't lay a finger on him!" The female Tiger Cub said as she got into a defensive Kung Fu stance. "Well don't just stand there! Kill them!" The other Boar shouted as they regrouped. They both charged at Mariko with the intent to kill her, but they wouldn't get the chance so easily. For Mariko dodged and weaved out of the way of their sword strikes nimbly. "Who is this girl!?" The Boars each asked as they became frustrated from missing so many strikes. Mariko didn't answer, and instead, responded by executing a flip kick which hit one of the bandits straight in the jaw, and knocking him unconscious. The other bandit looked at the female feline with disbelief, but before he could run, Mariko delivered a hard kick to the Bandit's head and also knocked him unconcious.

Haokan, who had watched the entire spectacle, couldn't believe what he had seen. The small female Tiger Cub hadn't needed his help at all, she had single highhandedly defeated both of those bandits without even getting hurt. "How did you-" "Come on! We need to get out of here!" She interrupted him, taking him by the hand and running off with him trailing behind.

 **A/N: There's Chapter 3! Btw, Merry Christmas everyone! Or Happy late Hanukkah! Or Happy Kwanzaa! The Point is, Happy Holidays people! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Chapter 4 will be released after the new year so stay tuned! If you're enjoying this story so far, favorite, follow, and lastly**

 **Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Farewells

After several minutes of running, Mariko brought herself and Haokan back to the alleyway where the rope to her room was still dangling from the window of her Bedroom. Haokan was panting hard, trying to catch his breath, while Mariko seemed just fine. "How… Can you… Not be… Tired…?" Haokan asked between heavy breaths, not understanding how her endurance was so great. She just giggled, noticing how he had nearly passed out while trying to keep up with her. Once Haokan eventually recovered, he asked, "And how did you fight off those crooks without even getting a scratch?" She smiled and replied to him, "Okay, I'll answer your question, but in return, you'll have to answer one of my questions! Deal?" Haokan folded his arms and thought, 'Okay, so that's how it's gonna be… Then I'll play your game.' "Okay, deal." He answered as he walked over to the rope. "Wait, where are you going? Don't you want me to answer your question?" "When we get back into your room. I don't want us to be heard by anyone this late at night. It's safer in the tower." And with that, the cub began to climb the rope of tightly tied cloths.

 **(If you're wondering, even as cubs, Tigers and other felines are excellent climbers.)**

Shortly after, the two reached the top of the rope and Haokan climbed through the window. He then offered a helping hand up to Mariko who was about to reach the top as well. She smiled and took his hand, allowing him to pull her in through the window and into the room. She was relieved to be back in her room, she didn't naturally have a fear of heights, but climbing that rope to the very top could make anyone a bit unnerved. The only thing lighting the room was the moonlight which came in through the window. But Haokan quickly changed that, pulling the rope up from the ground and back into the room where he hid it away behind the wardrobe once more. He then went over and shut the window shutters. "What are you doing?" She asked. But before she knew it, a scratching sound was heard and the dim light from a candle appeared as Haokan placed the candle holder on a table beside her bed.

"So… You were gonna tell me how you fought off those crooks?" He asked as he sat down on the floor of the carpet floor. Mariko also sat down next to him and answered, "Oh yeah, my Mommy and Daddy have taught me how to fight a bit, I only started learning last year." "Really? What kind of parents teach their kid to fight so young?" Haokan asked, thinking the whole thing was just nonsense. "Well, my Mommy and Daddy are both really good Kung Fu Masters, they always keep the valley safe from bad guys." She answered proudly. "Your parents are Kung Fu Masters?" Haokan asked in disbelief. "Yeah! My Daddy is actually the Dragon Warrior! He's told me lots of awesome stories of his adventures and all the times he's saved China!" If Haokan's brain could pop out of his head, now would be the time, as it was being overloaded with information. "Hold up, you're Dad is THE Dragon Warrior?" "Umm, yes?" Mariko answered skeptically. "That's so cool! I've heard so many stories about the Dragon Warrior! But I never thought he was actually your Dad!" Haokan added.

Mariko giggled a bit at the Leopard's reaction, but she remembered her deal from before, "Now that I've answered your question, it's time for you to answer one of mine!" Haokan suddenly lost a bit of his energy and he replied, "Oh...Yes...Ask away then..." Mariko then asked him, "So why does you're father not allow you to leave the tower? And why do you not like talking about him?" He sighed and thought, 'Okay, a deal is a deal...'

"My father tries to keep me inside this tower so that I don't get captured, or killed. If I didn't escape some of the time, I would never know what it's like to roam the streets of the city, or talk to others besides the royal workers in the tower." Mariko was intrigued by his answer, but she wished to know more, "And why do you not like talking about him? If he's just trying to protect you then he can't be that bad, can he?" He sighed again and replied, "You would think so, but it's quite the opposite, he despises me." Mariko was taken back by this, "What do you mean." He replied, "I have never told anyone this before, so please promise to keep it a secret." She nodded and he continued,

"My Dad hates me because I'm the reason my Mom died."

Mariko took a second to comprehend what he told her. "Wait, what?" She asked, to which he answered, "It's true, I'm the reason my Mom died. She died while giving birth to me, and ever since that day, my father has constantly ignored me, scolded me and even abused me sometimes." Mariko was appalled from hearing the Cub's story, "That's terrible..." She said, feeling sympathetic for him. "He never sees me as anything more than a nuisance, he has always treated me like garbage, and constantly restricts me and forbids me from any type of freedom. He's always made me feel worthless..." But just as he finished, he began to feel someone take hold of his paw, it was Mariko. "I don't believe him. You're not worthless, and you're definitely not a nuisance." She said genuinely as she looked into his eyes. The candle light from the table made his sky blue eyes look orange instead. She hadn't noticed it before, but the look on his face seemed like he was in doubt. "But I am! If I hadn't been born, my Mother would still be alive! It's all my fault-" He was interrupted from his rant when he felt a paw pressed against his mouth. "Don't think like that! I'm sure your mother wouldn't have wanted you to saw such things about yourself." Mariko told him optimistically before being cut off by Haokan who angrily replied, "Don't you get it!? My Mom is gone! She'd probably think of me as a disgrace as well-"

Haokan was about to continue to self loath and contemplate his existence further until he was interrupted mid sentence when Mariko pressed her lips against his and began to kiss him. This action was completely out of the norm for him, and so he had absolutely no idea how to react. But to her surprise and to his own, he didn't seem to push away from her, instead he almost allowed it. Mariko released herself from him a second later and looked at his flustered emotions, his cheeks were the color of crimson, and his mouth was slightly open, as if he was at loss for words. Mariko also blushed from the action, though not nearly as much as the Leopard who literally looked like his brain had frozen. She giggled at his expression before she replied to him in a more serious tone, "Your Mother would never think that of you, I know it." "I… Do you really think that?" He stuttered as he looked at her in the eyes. "I do, no Mother could ever dislike their child. It's just not possible."

The two spent the next half an hour with each other, just talking, getting to know each other a bit more. That was until Haokan came to a realization, "Oh my, how long have I been here? What is the time!?" He asked as he sounded like he was panicking. "You've only been here for about an hour, why?" Mariko asked, not understanding the Cub's reason for his distress. "I've got to get back to my chambers now! Or else they might alert my Dad that I've been gone for too long!" He stated as he began to rush over to the door which he had come in through initially. Mariko understood why the Cub had to go, but that didn't prevent her from disliking the whole situation. She ran up to stop him before he left and addressed him, "Hey! Before you go… Do you wanna… You know, hang out tomorrow?" Haokan's expression changed from one of worry to one of happiness, "Of course I would." He answered very simply. But before he opened the doors and left, he hugged Mariko which came as a surprise to her. "See you soon!" He said as he opened the door, looked both ways and then quietly rushed through the hallway leaving Mariko behind. She closed her door shortly after and looked over to the dim lighting of the candle which he had lit earlier. Right near the candle stick was the portrait of herself and Haokan, which they had gotten earlier that day while they were touring the tower. A warm feeling suddenly engulfed her as she thought about him, she giggle and thought, 'I guess I'm in love.'

Back with Haokan, he was in a much different state of mind, he instead was worried that the guards would have told Pingbi about his escape. "I have to find Pingbi before he tells Dad. Or else Dad will probably take away my meals for another 3 days…" And so he rushed off to find the Rhino guard as quickly as he could. He ran back towards the staircase up to the top floor of the tower, it was here that he began to hear chatter. As he stealthily ascended the stairs, he recognized the voices were those of the guards who had chased after him after he had left his room earlier that night. "He must have left! He wasn't in his room when we checked! We must let Lord Xiong know that his Son is missing!" One of the guards ranted, then another spoke up, "Yes! It's true! You must let the Emperor know Pingbi!" Haokan kept listening in on the conversation, and he then heard the Rhino guard speak up, "We don't know for sure if he escaped the tower, for all we know, he could have just gone to the bathroom when you checked." The guards replied, "But Master Pingbi! You said yourself that he would probably try to escape tonight-" "I know what I said. But that doesn't mean he has escaped-" Pingbi interrupted them before he himself was interrupted, "Pingbi? What's all this noise about?" Haokan asked as he walked over to the three guards. "Ah, Master Haokan, we were just internally conversing. I apologize for making so much noise, but why are you still awake at this hour?" Haokan came up with an excuse and went with it, "My throat feels dry and I was thirsty, can I get a glass of water?" Pingbi nodded and answered, "Of course Master Haokan, follow me." And with that, Pingbi took the Cub along the halls away from the two dumbstruck guards, "I thought he had escaped!?" The one guard asked in disbelief. "Quiet you fool! You're going to wake up Emperor Xiong!" The other guard scolded him quietly.

Once Pingbi and Haokan were out of earshot of everyone else, the Rhino told him, "I know you escaped this night Haokan." To which the Cub didn't reply. Pingbi sighed and continued, "You know how much trouble your father would put you in if he knew what you're up to at night." The Cub stayed silent for a second, until he replied, "Father doesn't understand me, and he doesn't care for me at all." Pingbi shook his head and told the Cub, "You're wrong, he cares deeply for you, that is why he keeps you cooped up in this tower. There are many dangers in the outside world which you don't understand, he only wishes to keep you safe from them." Again Haokan didn't reply back, which prompted Pingbi to continue, "This is the last time I stick my neck up for you. The next time you sneak out I will have to report it to your father." Pingbi finished by pouring the Cub a glass of cold water from the kitchen and telling him, "Someday you'll understand that this is for your own good-" "More like for my own imprisonment…" The Cub interrupted as he headed back to his bedchambers. Pingbi looked on at the Cub, shaking his head and thinking, 'If only you understood how much you are cared for.'

 **The Next Morning…**

Mariko awoke from her slumber to be greeted by the light of the sun entering through the thin paper walls of her bedchamber. Her sleep had been made nice due to her dreams that night. All night, she had dreamed of spending time with Haokan, even now as she thought of this it made her blush. She got out of bed to begin to get ready, but before she could even place her clothes on, her door was opened and in walked an adult female Black Bear who carried a tub of water. The tub looked very heavy to Mariko, but the fact that the bear effortlessly carried the tub wasn't what surprised her, it was that a complete stranger had just walked into her room unannounced while she was completely undressed. Mariko immediately covered her parts in embarrassment and panicked, "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE!?" To which the Bear looked confused and asked in return, "Whatever do you mean dearest? I'm just the maid." Mariko was now also confused, "What's a maid?" She asked, clearly not understanding the Bear's reasoning. "Well, a Maid is someone who takes care of responsibilities around the tower. I am to see that guests are bathed, dressed and properly groomed before they leave their rooms." Mariko was still confused, 'Can't people do all those things by themselves?' She thought, but decided ignore the issue and instead allow the maid to do her job.

Once the maid was nearly done with attending to Mariko's appearance, the young female Cub looked at her reflection in the styling mirror which the maid was using to detail her fur perfectly. Mariko was naturally concerned of her appearance, but not THIS concerned. It was as if every strand of hair on her fur coat had to be absolutely perfect. She had never looked this good before, it was almost like she was flawless. "There you are dearest, you look absolutely stunning!" The maid complimented her as she looked at the Cub through the reflection of the mirror.

"She's absolutely right, Sweetheart."

Mariko jerked her head over towards the door and noticed that her father was watching with a proud smile. Mariko instantly felt happy and ran over to her father and hugged him at his knees since he was so tall. He in turn scooped her up in his arms and the two began laughing happily. He noticed that today she wore several beautiful opal earrings, something he had never seen her wear before. 'Did she always have those?' Po thought to himself until he was interrupted when she spoke up, "You wouldn't believe what Haokan and I did yesterday Daddy!" Mariko told him as he put her back down. "Oh? What did you two do? Did you tour the massive tower?" Mariko nodded her head and ran over to the portrait which she had encased in a wooden frame. "And look! We got a portrait together! Isn't it great!?" She asked, showing him the picture up close. The Portrait was very well drawn, and the details on the two Cubs made it look uncannily realistic. Though this wasn't the highlight, the thing that attracted the most attention were the positions which the two Cubs were in, Mariko was painted in the picture as almost dragging Haokan into the picture, while he reluctantly resisted. Mariko's expression looking of excitement and joy like it almost always was, while Haokan's was more worried and skeptical. Po chuckled at the picture and told her, "It's a great portrait Mariko, you should keep it forever." Suddenly, Mariko was hit by that same warm sensation she had the night prior when he had hugged her before he left. Unbeknownst to her, she began to blush and stutter as she tried to say, "I-I guess s-so." Po was puzzled by her reaction and he asked, "Are you okay sweetheart?" He had no idea why all of a sudden his daughter's cheeks turned a rosy red color and she began to stutter. She shook her head and replied, "I'm fine Daddy." He smiled in content, "Good, because we have a long journey again today." "Wait what? I thought we were staying for a week?" Mariko asked in a confused and upset tone. Po was surprised by her reaction and he explained, "I never said we were going to stay here for a week Sweetheart." "But the Emperor told us we could!" She argued, and she had a point, the Emperor had indeed offered for them to stay longer. "I'm sorry Mariko, but we can't stay, I'm afraid if we don't return home soon it will worry everyone, especially your mother."

Mariko however wasn't so keen on this idea even after the reasoning, "But we just got here! I don't want to leave yet! Can't we just stay a little longer Daddy!?" She asked whilst putting her innocent face on to try to sway her father to side with her. This unfortunately was in vain, as Po would not give in to his daughter's cuteness this time, "I'm sorry Sweetheart, but we can't, I made a promise to your mother that we would return within two days." Mariko looked down and frowned, she was really disapointed that her they could not stay longer, there were many things she wanted to see and do while still in this amazing city, but she knew that her Father was right, they must return home. Po looked at the expression of his daughter and he couldn't bear to see her so unhappy, "Tell you what, you can spend the next half of the day to do whatever you want, and then we will leave shortly after noon." Mariko instantly cheered up, "Thanks Daddy!" She said, and with that she ran out into the hallway. Po smiled in satisfaction, he cared deeply for the happiness of his daughter, and seeing her mood brighten had the same effect on him.

Mariko was much more cheerful as she ran off towards Haokan's room, which she had seen when he had shown her around the tower the day before. But when she arrived at the room, she noticed that the Rhino guard from yesterday was in front of the door. "Excuse me mister Pingbi? Do you know where I can find Haokan?" She asked politely and innocently. Pingbi nodded and replied, "Master Haokan is with Emperor Xiong in his personal quarters. Shall I take you to him?" She nodded, and Pingbi signaled her to follow.

Pingbi lightly knocked on the Emperor's door and announced, "My Lord, Mariko wishes to see Master Haokan." Within a moment, the door was opened by Emperor Xiong and the adult Leopard smiled while looking down towards the small female Cub, "Greetings Mariko, you wish to see Haokan?" His voice always seemed to intimidate Mariko for some reason, it had the feel of authority and power, though she managed to compose herself and nod in approval. Cishan turned and addressed his son, "Haokan!" "Yes father?" Haokan asked as he walked over from the balcony which he had been staying. "Oh, hi Mariko." He remarked as he hadn't noticed her before. "Hi Haokan, do you wanna hang out for a while before Daddy and I leave?" Haokan raised an eyebrow and responded in a seemingly worried tone, "You're leaving already!? I thought you were to stay another week?" At this, Haokan's father looked down at him with a gaze that looked as if he were trying to read his son's expression. Mariko replied in a sad tone, "Yeah, I'm sorry we couldn't stay longer, but Daddy says that Mommy will get worried if we're away for too long…" Haokan was saddened by this, he too wanted for Mariko to stay longer, she was probably the first person who he had really taken a liking to in his entire life. "Well, why don't we check out the plants in the greenhouse near the bottom of the tower?" Haokan said whilst looking up to his father for approval. Cishan did not respond but rather waved his hand as he turned his back to his son, it was a very impolite way of saying, "Begone!"

The two Cubs wasted no time in getting to the bottom floors, they wanted to maximize the time they had left with each other. They had been to the greenhouse of the tower the day before, but Haokan hadn't really felt like showing Mariko all the flowers and plants in great detail, so they had mostly ignored it. "I can't believe how many different types of beautiful flowers there are in China!" Mariko said as she began to examine the different varieties. Haokan smiled and proudly replied, "Almost all the types of common flowers in the country can be found in this greenhouse, it really is incredible." Haokan explained, while clearly enjoying his time with the young female Cub. Unfortunately for them however, their time was drawing near an end, and they both knew it. "I'm sorry I have to leave Haokan, I really wanted to stay here with you and get to know you better, but I also have a family…" Haokan frowned, he knew she was right, and he couldn't argue, so instead he comforted her, "Hey, it's alright, you and I will see each other again some day, I know it!" This cheered her up and she replied, "Of course! I will ask Daddy if one day we can return, but for now, I have to go." Mariko's smile began to fade. But before she went to leave, she hugged her friend one last time. Haokan welcomed the hug, but he didn't notice Mariko remove one of her new Opal Earrings and place it on his right ear. She then released him and waved him goodbye while saying, "See you soon Haokan!" To which he waved back, and once she was out of earshot he replied almost to himself, "Farewell Mariko, I hope we see each other again..."

 **A/N: There's Chapter 4 everyone, hope yall enjoyed it. Sorry it took so long to publish, school and other commitments take up a lot of my time, however I plan to finish this story and so I will dedicate more time to it. If you're enjoying this story, or any of my other works, be sure to favorite, follow, and most importantly,**

 **Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Just a heads up for this chapter guys, I know this story is rated T, but this chapter is going to be extremely graphic for some readers who are good at imagining scenes based on words. Viewer discretion is advised for younger readers. That's all I'm going to say before I accidentally spoil the whole chapter. Anyway,**

 **On with the Chapter!**

Chapter 5

Days Gone By

 **13 Years Later**

The Valley of Peace was especially quiet on this particular morning, the silent sounds of the winds blowing through the leaves of grass and trees whistled through the mountains towards the Jade Palace. However, within the training hall of the Jade Palace, a loud ruckus could be heard even from outside of the closed doors of the building.

"Yield!" Shouted a near adult female voice. Another voice was heard shortly after, though it was more of an angry and hateful growl than anything else. The voice was quite low, and definitely a male from the tone. Reluctantly, the owner of the voice tapped on the foot of the female three times in a row quickly to signify that they did indeed yield.

With that, the female released the male out of the hold which had pinned the male to the ground and exclaimed in victory, "Yes! Count another one for this girl!" It was Mariko, the daughter of the Dragon Warrior and the famous Master Tigress. She was now 18 years old, and had grown much over the years, height wise and also maturity wise. She stood victoriously over top of her twin brother Genji who she had just beaten fair and square in a sparing match. This wasn't the first time she had beaten him, in fact, in all the years, she had rarely ever lost a sparing match against her brother. This much she could brag about, but Mariko appreciated being more modest about her accomplishments, and decided not to boast any further. She offered a helping paw up to her brother who still lay on the floor and looking away from her in a look of disgust. He swatted her paw away and got up by himself in a very irritated way. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but before she could, her brother stormed out of the training hall, stomping hard with each step he took. His strides were so hard that he was nearly snapping the floorboards underneath in half. He reached the door and then punched the door open so hard that it broke the hinges right off and sent it flying forward. And with that he walked out and away, leaving his sister behind.

Mariko felt nervous at the moment, her brother's violent outburst left her speechless and also quite worried. She wondered what it was that had made him so angry and upset, was it because she had beaten him again? Whatever the reason, she knew that it most likely had something to do with her, and it would be wise not to confront him about it herself as that probably wouldn't help the situation. So instead she decided she would talk to someone about it.

She headed over towards the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom where she knew her father would be meditating. She noticed her father sitting in a lotus position directly underneath of the canopy which the tree provided, he seemed at peace, so she decided to go speak with him.

"Good morning Daddy, can I speak with you for a minute?" She asked politely from behind him. Of course, Mariko had matured much over the years, but something she still did from when she was a child was calling her father 'Daddy'. Of course, her father didn't mind this, in fact he liked it because it helped to remind him of his daughter's youth.

"Good morning sweetheart, what would you like to speak to me about?" He asked while opening his eyes but remaining in the same meditative position. She frowned, "It's about Genji he…" She trailed off before pausing for a second. "Yes?" Her father asked in a slightly worried tone. She continued, "Him and I were sparring this morning and I ended up winning the match, I offered him a helping hand up but he refused and then stormed out of the building. I'm worried about him Daddy."

Po sighed, "Okay, I understand, I will go talk to him alone. Do you know where he might be?" He asked while getting up from the ground slowly. "I think he might have headed over towards the hall of heroes." She answered. "Okay, thanks sweetheart, now head back to finish your morning training exercises will you?" He asked as he picked up his Jade staff and set it on his back. "Okay Daddy, sorry that I bothered you." He chuckled, "It's no problem sweetheart." And with that he kissed his daughter on the top of her head and went off to find his youngest son.

 **Meanwhile in the Hall of Heroes**

Genji looked at his own reflection through the deep clear water of the moon pool bellow the statue of the Dragon Scroll. He like his sister had grown much over the last few years, for he now stood nearly a foot taller than his sister and his mother. He was about the same size as his father, (About 7 feet tall). Though even with the physical changes to his body, he still seemed recognizable to the cub he once was. His fur was still messy and rough unlike his sister, and his black patches on his eyes still remained. However, he had also become considerably stronger, stronger than even his mother.

As he looked at himself, he could see the clear amount of rage and fury that his face held within it. He had once again lost to his sister, this was something he could not stand more than anything, but losing to her wasn't the only thing that got under his skin. It was her confident and cheerful personality which drove him insane, her boastful and smug attitude which she always used when she would beat him.

'She doesn't deserve to beat me! I work more than twice as hard as her! Train for twice as long! I'm stronger! Faster! She has no right to defeat me!' He thought within his less than peaceful mind. He clenched his fists and began to shake with anger from the thoughts. 'I will show her! I will defeat her every time from now on! And then Mother and Father will finally be proud of me!' Genji looked up towards the Dragon Scroll statue which hung above him and his negative thoughts continued, 'She has taken everything from me! My dignity! My honor! I…I…I HATE her!' He then punched the air behind him as a means of releasing his anger, it created a small draft of wind which blew through the long hallway and out the open doors.

Just then Genji's ears perked up as he heard something coming from the room, "Who's there!?" He shouted without hesitation while now standing up and looking around the large hall. A faint voice could be heard in the room, but he couldn't distinguish what it was saying. He began to walk closer towards some of the ancient Kung Fu artifacts, many of which were just weapons which had been used in battles of long past. But when Genji approached a certain casing for one of these weapons the voice began to get a bit louder. He approached the source of the voice, it seemed to be emanating from an encased throwing knife of sorts. By the look of it, the knife looked like a Japanese Kunai throwing knife. The faint noise still emanated from it, but now that he was close, Genji could hear exactly what it was saying

 _~"Genji Ping, your anger and frustration radiates like a fire's heat burns. You are distraught, and you know whom it is to blame. You have tried many times to prove yourself, but to no avail."~_

It was at this time that Genji started to wonder how in the world he was being communicated to by a simple throwing knife. So he picked it up out of its casing and examined it more closely but there didn't seem to be anything physically irregular about it. But then it spoke again,

 _~"I understand your struggle and your lust for redemption and craving for dominance Genji Ping. You have spent your life training to be better than your sister, yet she always stays a step ahead of you."~_

Genji began to get even more frustrated upon hearing the voice's remarks and he replied to it, "Who are you, and how the hell do you know so much about me!"

 _~"I can offer you a chance at redemption, Genji. I can give you the power to defeat your sister. To make your parents proud. To make everyone finally respect you!"~_

Genji's ears suddenly perked up as he took a likeing to what the voice had just offered. He asked it, "How do I get this so called 'Power'?" And then he began to feel the tip of the blade of the knife with his thumb. He could feel some sort of fluid-like substance which inexplicably was got dripping from the blade as he tipped it downward. 'What is this sorcery? How is this liquid not falling from the blade?' He thought as he examined it. So he began to try to manually wipe the liquid off the blade with his thumb.

"Ow!" He yelped as he accidentally cut his thumb in the process. He hadn't anticipated that the knife was still very sharp. He clutched the area on his thumb where he was now bleeding out. Genji had quite a good resilience to pain, something he'd adopted over the years from the devastating training he did.

But instead of pain, Genji began to feel something strange, it wasn't something he had ever felt before, it was a strange tingly feeling in his neck. At first it didn't hurt at all, however, moments later Genji began to feel excruciating pain in his neck.

"AHHH! WHAT IS THIS!?" He yelled as he began to roar and rage at the pain which had just engulfed him. Before he knew it though, the pain ended and he opened his eyes which he had closed during the outburst. But to his surprise, when he opened his eyes, his vision was tinted in some sort of dark red hue. 'What the hell!? What is going on!?' He thought as he began to look around seeing everything as if it were the color of dark crimson.

 _~"My name is **Akuma** , and I will grant you the power you need to defeat your sister, to defeat any of your enemies! But this power will come at a cost…"~_

Genji looked around, not knowing where the voice was that spoke to him, it wasn't coming from the throwing knife anymore…It was almost as if the voice was talking to him from inside his own head.

"What cost!? Whatever it is I will pay it! Anything to defeat Mariko!" He asked in a tone that sounded commanding and anger filled.

The voice began to chuckle evilly and it replied,

 _~"You will forever pledge your soul to me."~_

Genji hesitated upon hearing the response, but after a second of thought, he quickly responded, "Okay, I will forever pledge my soul to you, Akuma…"

The voice chuckled again,

 _~"Very well…I shall grant you the power you so desire…"~_

 **Back in the Training Hall**

Mariko was in the middle of running the obstacle course of the training hall, something she did quite a bit as of late. Normally Mariko preferred to partake in her artistic hobbies including painting and sketching, however, lately she wanted to spend more time training to keep up her figure. If you asked her why she kept up this regiment she'd claim, 'you never know when some evil warlord might invade the country…' But you'd be hearing her telling a lie, for in fact, she was training for a completely different reason.

She halted her training momentarily and took off her earring which she had worn the whole morning, a single opal earring which she had worn nearly every single day since the day it had been given to her. It was very special to her, the reason being not only because it was quite beautiful and expensive, but because it helped to remind her of the person who had given it as a git. This person who had given it to her had been on her mind for a long time, for 13 years in fact.

'I promise someday I will return to see you, Haokan.' She thought to herself while looking at the shinning earring and developing a warm feeling in her cheeks.

Just then, she heard the doors to the training hall open from behind her and she saw a large shadow from the door. She looked back and saw her brother Genji standing at the doorway. She hadn't at all expected to see her twin brother show up at this moment. Looking at him, she noticed that for some reason his eyes were shut and the black patches surrounding his eyes were full. But it wasn't like he was blinking, it was more like he was keeping them shut on purpose.

"I-Is everything alright? Brother?" She asked him with a hint of fear finding it's way into her speech.

Genji did not answer, he faced her direction but remained completely motionless. It was really beginning to creep Mariko out. She also noticed that Genji's left thumb was openly bleeding out and freely dropping to the ground, creating small red stains on the floor.

"Genji! You're bleeding! You need to get that patched up!" She told him as she rushed up to him and grabbed his paw to inspect the wound. There was indeed a deep cut on his thumb which looked to have been caused from a cutting tool. But upon grabbing her brother's paw, Mariko noticed that Genji's arm began to tense up, as did the rest of his body. She began to step back from him in slight fear, not knowing what would happen next.

"Brother?" She asked one last time.

Genji then opened his eyes and his sister gasped in horror. A menacing dark red aura emitted from Genji's eyes and his expression went to that of murderous intent. His sharp canine teeth were exposed as Genji began to growl like a feral beast. Saliva dripped from his mouth and to top it off, he unsheathed his sharp claws.

Mariko took a step back again trying to back up from her brother who right now resembled a creature from the worst of nightmares. She hardly had any time to even think before Genji took off after her with a loud roar.

Mariko instinctively began to block and dodge claw strikes which her brother sent towards her, each of which would have resulted in a severe injury. Her inherent talent for martial arts and her great reaction time helped her to stand her ground, it was usually enough to allow her to beat her brother. But this time it was different, she wasn't winning this fight, and though she was managing to stay unscathed, she could tell that Genji was much more powerful than he was before.

But then out of seemingly nowhere, Genji's attacks became more powerful, hitting harder and faster. Mariko was unprepared for this change and every time she attempted to block an attack it actually hurt. The momentum had completely changed and now was in Genji's favor. Mariko struggled to repel her brother's attacks and now many of Genji's strikes were meeting their mark. She, like him had a good tolerance to pain thanks to her Mother's passed on traits, but Genji's attacks were backed with so much power that she couldn't hold on much longer.

The struggle lasted for another several minutes, but ultimately Mariko was hit with a powerful roundhouse kick right to her waist which sent her to the ground in pain and shock. Nothing had ever hit her that hard before, her brother had always been stronger than her, but this strength he was displaying now was definitely supernatural. She had no time to get up before her brother picked her up off the ground and held her with one arm by the collar of her Qipao. He then began to brutally pummel his sister in her face causing her to scream in agonizing pain. She was now drained of almost all her energy and stamina, she couldn't fight back.

 **Near the Hall of Heroes**

Po was on his way towards the Hall of Heroes where his daughter had informed him he might find his youngest son. He wasn't looking forward to confronting Genji, he knew exactly what the issue was when Mariko described the incident to him. Genji was jealous of Mariko again, this had been a constant issue throughout the lives of Po's children. In Po's eyes Genji was responsible for this problem, ever since they were Cubs Po had noticed how overly competitive Genji was. And this problem had only grown over the years. As he walked up the stairs towards the Hall of Heroes, he thought of how he could address the issue. That was until he heard the sounds of screaming coming from back at the training hall.

His eyes went wide as he recognized who it was that sounded like they were in trouble…

"MARIKO!" He shouted as he instantly rushed towards the training hall.

 **Back at the Training Hall**

Mariko's face was badly bruised and had multiple broken bones after having been beaten and battered by her brother's fist. But Genji wasn't done with her yet, he took her and began to throw her around the room violently, throwing her into walls and pillars, weakening the structure in the process. She was now all but unable to scream due to her broken mandible which her brother was responsible for. But every time she hit a wall it hurt, a lot.

She lay on the ground completely helpless, beaten and was beginning to loose blood in many new wounds which bled out freely. Anyone with any sense of morality and a heart would have immediately gone to help her, but Genji did no such thing. Instead, he stared down at her with the dark red aura still emanating from his eyes with no remorse. He then began to growl angrily again and picked his sister up with both his arms and held her high above his head so that she was in a position where she looked like she was lying down but with her limbs hanging down in weakness.

Po had just arrived at the training hall as quickly as he could and he looked inside and saw his son holding his daughter above his head with his back turned towards Po. She looked like she as in really rough shape, she was still breathing but was not moving. But then Po noticed that Genji was preparing to do something absolutely horrible.

"GENJI! NOOOO!" He yelled as he tried to run up and stop his son.

But it was too late, for Genji let out a loud and menacing roar as he quickly dropped Mariko quickly and brought his knee up swiftly which hit her back bone incredibly hard. (Imagine this like how Bane breaks Batman's back in the comics)

"KRACK!"

Mariko lay motionless on Genji's knee as her back had just been broken in two, he then proceeded to push her off and roar loudly in a display of dominance.

Po immediately ran up to Mariko, not caring at all about his youngest son who was standing tall before them. He grasped his fingers in each other and went through the motion to heal his daughter using his Hero Chi energy. He started by attempting to reconnect the vertebral columns which had been shattered from the impact of Genji's powerful knee strike. All the while, changes began to overtake Genji as he backed up into the wall behind him while grasping his now throbbing head. Po had just finished healing Mariko's near fatal injuries when Genji finally came to his senses, losing the red aura in his eyes and he asking in confusion, "W-What happened?"

It was then that Tigress, who had also heard the commotion arrived at the doors of the training hall. She observed the scene and saw her daughter lying on the floor with her husband at her side attending to the young female's wounds. She gasped and immediately ran up to her husband's side.

Genji looked around and saw that he was now inside the Training Hall, he didn't remember how he had gotten here. Last he remembered, he had been inside the Hall of Heroes looking at his reflection in the moon pool. He then looked down and saw the body of his sister with her fur looking rough and disheveled, along with blood stains on her pink and silver training vest. "What the hell?" He said to himself as he looked down at her motionless body, beside her was his father who was on his knees and tending to Mariko's apparent wounds. His father didn't reply to him, and seemed to solely focus on his sister who was barely breathing at the moment.

He then felt a strange sensation on his paws, he looked down at them and saw that his claws were unsheathed and had blood covering them. "…What…Have I done?" He said to himself again as he looked at the hands which looked like he had just been caught during the act of murder.

"You did it. You finally did it. Tell me, _Son_ , how did it feel?"

Genji heard his father say to him in a stone cold tone to him without the Panda turning his back to his son. Genji didn't know what his father meant by this, "Did what? What did I do!?" He asked as he now began to back from his father who he could sense was very tense in the moment.

"You beat your sister to within an inch of her life, isn't that everything you've ever wanted? Tell me, how does it feel?"

Po answered again coldly while now standing up without turning to face his son. Genji was now backing up into a nearby wall of the training hall which had suffered some structural damage as its pillars were slightly bent. It was then that his father turned to face him, a face as emotionless and cold as was possible.

"I swear I didn't do anything Father! I have no memory of how I even got here! I-"

Genji tried to argue until his father cut him off in an assertive and loud voice,

" _You are no longer my Son. You are to leave this valley, to leave this country. You are not welcome here._ "

Genji was stunned by his father's words. He was banishing his own son from the county where he had been raised his whole life. "For how long?" He asked as he reached the wall that he had backed into.

" _Forever_ , You are never to set a foot in this country again, from this day forth, _I am disowning you_."

Po's words towards his son stung like lethal venom, and they sent a clear message to Genji. His father wasn't lying.

Genji now turned to his mother with an expression that read, 'Please Mother, not you to…' But unfortunately for him, his mother's expression was similar to his father's, she felt the same way. Genji had no one to turn to, he knew he was no match for his father, and having his mother agree for his banishment practically made it final, they were truly disowning him as their son.

And so he left. Never to return again.

 **A/N: Well there's chapter 5 people, hope you all enjoyed it! The next chapter will hopefully be just as long with as much content, expect it to come out soon!**

 **Remember to Favorite, Follow and Review this story!**

 **-Ace_Risk**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Exile

 **Near the Northern Border of China**

Genji had been running for nearly 2 days now, he didn't know where he was going, or how much longer he could keep up this pace. But one thing he did know, was that he had to leave the country. His father said it himself, he wasn't welcome there. There were a lot of things he didn't know at the moment, like why he couldn't remember what happened to himself before the incident. The last thing he recalled was him sitting down next to the Moon Pool in the Hall of Heroes, after that, his memory seemed clouded, almost like something was hidden from him. He didn't know how or why his sister had been so mortally injured, the only explanation he had was that of his father, that he had done it himself. There was evidence for that explanation, for Genji's claws and his black vest had trace bits of blood stains on them.

As Genji kept running on all fours through the thick bamboo forests, he began to tire, he hadn't eaten or rested for nearly 2 days, and his body was taking a tole for this. He slowed his pace so that he could lower his heart rate and also conserve energy. And it worked, but only a little. He still needed to eat, and to also rest, but at the same time, he also needed to get out of the country.

 **A Few Hours Later**

It was mid day now, Genji had covered a lot of ground, he was nearly at the northern border of China, though he did not know this. In fact, he had no idea really where he was, he had long past the thick bamboo forests, and had since been walking through what he thought to be the outskirts of a desert. There wasn't a tree in his sight, only small bushes far and few in between, no signs of any food source for miles, and more importantly, no sign of water…

'What was I thinking!? Where am I ever going to find something to replenish my energy!?' Genji thought harshly to himself as he kept walking through the plains.

As far as he could tell, he was completely alone in this barren wasteland. 'Just me myself and I it seems…'

 _~"Not quite so..."~_

Genji heard a voice speak to him, he immediately raised his guard and looked in all directions to find the owner of the voice. It sounded very close, almost like it was right next to him. "Who is that!? Where are you!?" Genji tried to call to whoever it was that had just spoken with him.

 _~"Do not be alarmed Genji Ping, I am Akuma, I merely wish to help you to accomplish your destiny."~_

The voice said again. Genji still looked around, clearly trying to find where this voice was coming from. But he saw no one, 'Who is this Akuma person!? And where are they!? Why can't I see them?"

 _~"The reason you cannot see me is because I am not a physical being, unlike you."_

"What do you mean?" Genji asked, still looking around to try and find the voice's owner.

 _~"I am a part of your very conscious, I hear your thoughts, I connect with them, and I can even influence them if you so desire…"~_

"What the hell!? How is this possible!?" Genji asked, now looking up at the desert sky above.

 _~"You are incredibly strong Genji Ping, I have great use for your talents. And you have now pledged your soul to me for eternity, you will do as I ask, in exchange for power beyond comprehension."~_

As the voice said this, Genji began to receive flashes back to several days prior, to the lost memory of that day.

'Did I really pledge my soul to him?' Genji asked himself in thought, recalling all the events of that fateful day.

 _~"Indeed, and I must say, I was astonished by how easily you defeated your petty sister. Though I was disappointed that you didn't finish the job…"~_

"What do you mean?"

 _~"You refused to kill her… In order to reach your full potential Genji Ping, you must focus solely on defeating and eliminating anyone who stands in your way to power!"~_

Genji had been taught all his life not to kill, and not to cause suffering towards others. This was what his parents had tried to instill in his mind. But now he was realizing how powerful he could be if he let go of his compassion and refuse to hold back against anyone.

But with all of this commotion, Genji had almost completely forgotten that he was still smack in the middle of the outskirts of a desert. And unfortunately for him, he didn't know which way to go to find any sort of settlement. He was still hungry, and still thirsty, but there was still no water or any food source in sight.

So he began to keep moving onward, to find something that might aid him. Using the sun as his guide, he continued to travel north, and unbeknownst to him… Deeper into the hot, dry desert.

 **Meanwhile, in the Valley of Peace**

The Jade Palace infirmary lay quiet, as it had for several days now. But the sound of a groan quickly changed that.

"Wha… What happened?" Asked a confused female voice, who's head rose slightly from a cot that they had been resting on.

"Sweetheart! Your awake!" Cried another voice from the infirmary.

Mariko opened her eyes as she heard the voice of her mother next to her. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that her Mother was standing at her side looking down at her from above with a very emotional expression. She then felt herself get enveloped in a hug, one which she returned immediately to her Mother. The hug was not brief, and lasted for a good minute, before Tigress released her daugher and looked at her in the eyes.

"How do you feel?" The female Tiger simply asked her daughter.

"I feel weird, as if my body has fallen off a cliff, but is completely fine. What happened?" Mariko answered, but asked the same question as before.

"You were out cold Mariko, its a miracle you're still alive after all the punishment your body took…" Said a familiar voice from the other side of her cot.

Mariko looked over and saw the rest of the former Furious Five Masters. Crane, Viper, Monkey, and even Master Mantis who was perched on his pal Monkey's left shoulder.

Mariko had not seen the Masters in some time, and so her initial response was that of surprise. "Wow! You guys are all here!" She exclaimed as looked at each of them.

They all smiled in return, obviously cherishing seeing their friend once again. Viper spoke for the team, "You sure do know how to worry your Mother, kiddo."

Mariko blushed at this, she knew it was true, but seeing the Furious Five here, she wondered something, "Wait, what are you guys all doing here? I thought you all left the valley to train the future Kung Fu students at the Lee Da Academy?"

This time, Crane spoke on behalf of the five, "We got word from Master Tigress that something terrible had happened to you, so naturally we came to help in any way we could, though our timing could have been better… We only arrived this morning, we apologize for our delay Mariko."

"Apology accepted Master Crane, but I still want to know what happened. Why was I out for several days?" Mariko asked, whilst trying to bring herself into a sitting position, to which she felt small discomfort and groaned in slight pain.

Tigress immediately placed her paw on her daughter's shoulder and attempted to return Mariko to lying on the cot of the infirmary. "Rest easy Sweetheart, you're lucky to be alive. Please don't push your body too hard, it needs time to recover." Tigress ordered as she set Mariko into a more comfortable position.

"But Mom, what happened to me? Why have I been out for two days?" Mariko asked, now feeling much better in this position.

Tigress took a long pause and sighed before answering to her daughter, "You really don't remember Sweetheart?" To which Mariko shook her head, signifying that she had no recollection of the event.

Tigress looked down at the ground, possibly contemplating how to word whatever she was going to say next. Then she answered, "You were nearly beaten to death by your own brother…"

Mariko's eyes immediately expanded upon hearing this news, as she could not believe what she was hearing. "…That… That can't be true…" She said as she looked up at the wooden ceiling of the infirmary.

"I'm afraid it's true Mariko, and it's a good thing your father found you when he did, or else…" Monkey said before he stopped abruptly, realizing what he was about to say.

Mariko didn't want to believe what her friends and her Mother were telling her, but at this revelation, she began to recall the events of that day. She remembered that she had been training in the training hall when her Brother had entered all of a sudden. And after that, all she remembered was being held in Genji's grasp before being dropped hard and hearing a loud cracking noise followed by a menacing and savage roar, and then blacking out completely.

"I… Genji…" She trailed off as she kept staring at the ceiling.

Tigress frowned and looked down, "This is all my fault… I knew of Genji's jealousy for years… But I could never expect him to act so… So violently…"

At this Tigress looked like she was about to start crying, that was before Mariko snapped her out, "Mother, this isn't your fault. Please pull yourself together."

Tigress looked up and weakly smiled at her daughter, trying to hide the obvious amount of sorrow she had on the subject.

"Speaking of Genji, where is he? Is he alright?" Mariko asked, which came as a surprise to all the others, especially considering her current predicament.

"It seems you missed that part too… Well, you see Sweetheart, after Genji had mortally injured you, your father quickly came to your aid and healed your most serious injuries with his Chi…" Tigress paused for a second, contemplating what to say next. After giving it a moments thought, she continued, "And after that, your father banished Genji from the country forever. And I went along with it…"

Mariko's mouth lay agape, had her father really exiled her own brother from the entire country!?

"And with that, Genji left, to where I do not know. But if he knew the wrath that his father had that day, he would have left the country as quickly as he could…" Tigress finished, now looking back down at the floor.

"Where is Daddy?" Mariko asked, having not seen her father in the room like everyone else.

Crane answered on behalf of the group again, "You're father hasn't been the same since the incident Mariko. Ever since we arrived, he has been distancing himself from everyone else. I know we haven't been here long, but it's easy to tell that something isn't right. When we do see him, he never acknowledges any of us, all he does is talk to himself…"

Mariko was worried by this, her she hadn't ever heard of this kind of behavior being made by her father. In fact, it was completely out of character for him. It couldn't be a good sign…

"Where is he now? Do any of you know?" She asked, now beginning to sit up again.

Monkey answered with a sad tone, "It seems he's been spending a lot of time at the Pool of Sacred Tears… I don't know if he's left that spot since we got here. I wonder what he's doing there."

Tigress finished the primate's sentence with a sad tone of her own, "Your father has spent nearly all his time there for the last two days since the incident. I don't know if he's even eaten anything in all that time, or slept…"

Upon hearing her Mother's response, Mariko got up from the cot, to everyone's surprise she was able to actually stand. Though she wobbled at first, feeling slight pain in her abdomen, she managed to stay standing and began to walk past the former Furious Five out of the infirmary.

Viper worriedly protested, "Wait Mariko! Your body hasn't fully healed yet! You have to rest!"

Mariko, however, did not reply, and instead kept on her way towards her destination. To have a talk with her father.

 **Meanwhile, in the Middle of the Gobi Desert…**

The rolling hills of course sand and dust seemed endless, the only vague sign that this desert had any end to it was the line on the horizon which Genji could barely see since it was so far away. He had now been stuck in this desert for half a day, and he certainly looked like he had. From all the travel he had done in the last 2 and a half days, Genji's hair was disheveled, and looked like he hadn't bathed in days. Along with this, his body was covered in certain areas with sand and dust which had blown onto him from the small winds in the desert. And not only did he look bad, but he also felt bad. Having not eaten in several days, along with having not drank any water, his body was beginning to take a toll on his condition.

His pace had slowed down to mere steps every other second, barely having the strength left to put one foot in front of the other. And to make things worse, if the hunger and thirst didn't kill him, the heat certainly would. It was the peak of the day now and the sun was directly overhead of him, its heat baked the sands and the air of the barren desert. Each step he took felt like walking on fire, and the air he breathed was just as unforgiving. He had to find shelter soon, he knew this much, but unfortunately for him there was no such shelter in sight. The only things that gave him any hope, were the few Cacti that he saw scattered here and there throughout the desert. Normally Cacti, like many other plants would produce fruit which were edible, but Genji's luck was about as good as his condition right now, not good. For none of these plants had the even slightest bud of fruit, they clearly hadn't gone to seed yet.

With that option routed out, Genji forced himself to carry on. Still using the sun as a guide, he continued traveling north where he hoped to find some sort of civilization or any type of refuge.

Meanwhile, within his head Genji was beginning to feel the solitude and dire situation he was in get to his mind. He was internally talking to himself, constantly trying to promise himself that he would find what he was looking for. But after hours of walking, and seeing no results, it was taking a tole on his mind. Coupled by the fact that he had a new voice which guided him the same way, he was beginning to fall into a pool of insanity.

 _~"I see you are beginning to question my own ideas Genji Ping?"~_

Genji cringed and adopted a face of anger and frustration. He had been listening to the new voice in his head guide him for the last few hours, and in his eyes, it was getting him nowhere. He decided to ignore the voice, and kept pushing on, trying to shut it out as best he could.

The voice evilly chuckled a bit at its hosts reaction,

 _~"I take it you wish for me to stop and leave you to navigate through this seemingly endless desert?"~_

Genji was becoming more and more frustrated with every time the voice taunted him, it seemed to know what he was thinking at all times, and also knowing what got under his skin. Genji scrunched his fists and began to growl lowly. As a clear sign he was feeling irate.

The voice chuckled again and continued,

~"There it is, you see? Your anger makes you powerful, much more powerful than your pathetic s-"~

Just then, the voice was interrupted by Genji who mustered some remaining strength and roared at the top of his lungs. He then proceeded to yell out just as loud,

" **CURSE THIS ENDLESS DESERT! CURSE THIS CRUEL WORLD! CURSE MY LIFE! AND CURSE MY WORTHLESS FATHER!"**

The clamor rippled through the desert, probably being the only noise that could be heard for miles aside from the faint sounds of the sand blowing in the wind.

After his outburst, he dropped to his knees with his front paws falling to the sand floor as well. He had managed to vent his anger, though it still didn't change the fact that he was stranded in a desert with no food or water. Genji looked toward the horizon, he could see how the effect of the heat was distorting the air, making it look like it was a wave. But beyond that wave, Genji's eyes picked up something that caught his attention. It looked like a figure, it was so far away that he could not describe it in any detail, it looked black, but in the form of… Another animal?

There was no mistaking it, it had to be someone, his instincts told him he had to get to that figure. So mustering the last of his energy, Genji began to walk towards where the figure stood. Not caring about the scorching sands on his feet, or the hunger and thirst that consumed him.

After nearly 30 minutes of non-stop walking, Genji noticed that he still hadn't reached the figure, and to his displeasure, it didn't seem any closer. He kept on walking, but no matter how far he walked, the figure always seemed to keep the same distance between them. He began to growl out of frustration, he couldn't keep this up for much longer, even now, he could feel his body trying to shut down to avoid using the last of his energy. He was so dehydrated at this point that his head had begun to ache, and his throat and tongue were drying up fast.

"Water…" He said to himself as he carried on. Though nobody could hear the young Tiger's pleas, he was hopelessly doomed if he did not drink something fast.

Genji closed his eyes as gusts of wind began to pick up in velocity, blowing sand directly at him. He held his arm up to shield his face from the dust and sand. But before he knew it, the winds began to pick up even more blowing sand in all directions. When he opened his eyes, he could no longer see the figure on the horizon, all he could see now was sand and dust flying everywhere, as he had been engulfed in a sudden sand storm.

But before he could do anything more, Genji's body gave into the heat, and he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, losing consciousness. The desert had finally claimed its latest victim.

Or so it seemed.

 **Hours Later…**

Genji's unconscious body lay motionless on the desert floor. As it had for the last two hours since it collapsed. The sand storm had long since passed, but now the problem was the setting of the sun. During the day, the desert baked from the light of the sun, but during the night, that temperature would plummet, becoming just as inhospitable as the scorching day. Right now, as the sun was setting in the west, it was becoming darker, and like usual the temperature was quickly dropping.

Unbeknownst to him however, Genji wasn't alone in this desert anymore. Multiple footsteps could be heard approaching him. Within a couple seconds, the footsteps stopped.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" A male voice said, from the sound, it sounded at the very least to be a middle aged male.

One of the figures crouched down and felt the carcass of the male tiger who lay on the sand floor with its arms splayed out. The figure placed its paw on Genji's back and gasped, "Impossible… This male Tiger is still alive!" This voice was that of a female, it sounded younger quite unlike the other voice.

"Interesting… No ordinary person could travel this far through the desert on their own… Just who are you my friend?" The male voice remarked as it looked at the unconscious Tiger's body in curiosity.

"What shall we do with him my Lord?" The young female asked, while still feeling the male Tiger's pulse.

"I want to hear his story, if he's an enemy of China then he's an ally of mine. We bring him with us." The male replied.

"As you wish." The female answered, along with the other three female figures who accompanied them. And with that, they adhered to their master's command.

 **A/N: There's chapter 6! And what a cliffhanger! But don't worry, we'll find out who these mysterious figures are in the next chapter. Tune in for the next chapter coming soon! As always, be sure to Favorite, Follow and leave a Review! It helps me to give you guys what you want out of the story!**

 **Peace out**

 **-Ace_Risk**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Allegiance

Mariko made her way up towards the Pool of Sacred Tears, intent on speaking with her father about the recent incident with her father. As she proceeded up the path, it was obvious that her body hadn't fully recovered yet, with the uncomfortable feeling in her gut as well as a strange feeling in her back. But she ignored the pain and continued on to find the answers she wanted.

The path to this sacred pool rose high above the ground, through the Himalayan mountains and almost into the clouds. The area around this location tended to be shrouded in mist, courtesy of the high altitude. And today was no different, the visibility was poor, but Mariko knew the path well after having come here before, so she kept on her way to find her father.

After traversing the path for a short while, Mariko began to hear a voice from up ahead, it had to be him. And as she approached the peak of the mountain where the location lay, she began to pick up the tone of the voice, and to her displeasure, it was somber. After she turned the last corner she saw him, her father wore his normal green tunic and black slacks which he always had, only he wasn't wearing is golden cloak. He appeared to be in a kneeling position right in front of the pool of water with his arms at his sides. As Mariko walked up to him, it was clear that he could not sense her presence, as he was in the middle of… Crying…? This was an unusual noise for Mariko to hear, because in all her life she had never heard her parents cry. It wasn't an uncontrolled tantrum, more like quiet sobs here and there. However, when she got very close to him she noticed that the pool of tears itself had nearly risen to overflowing out of its basin.

"Daddy?…" She asked from directly behind him.

"Oh, hi Sweetheart… Did you come all the way here to see your sad excuse for a father?" He answered through whimpers her with a tone that hadn't the slightest glimmer of hope in it.

Mariko saw her father turn his head to the side, not looking at her, but definitely acknowledging her. And from what she see of his face, it looked like he wasn't faring well. The fur beneath his eyes were soaked with what she assumed to be his tears, and his fur all over his body was ruffled and messy. She had never seen him look like this, he usually looked elegant, and in good health.

When she didn't reply to his question, Po looked back down at the pool of water before him, "This place really fascinates me, it never rains here, so do you know how this pool got here?" He asked her.

Mariko frowned and answered, "You taught me years ago that this pool was created by Master Oogway when he discovered the secrets of Kung Fu. He used his own teardrops to fill the basin with water…" She finished whilst looking at the pool which was now to the verge of overflowing.

Po gave a small sad chuckle and replied, "Clever girl."

Mariko sighed and addressed her depressed father, "Daddy, you can't keep staying up here anymore, Mom and the others are worried about you. Plus you haven't slept or eaten in days, this is terrible for your health!"

Po looked back and smiled weakly as he replied, "What's the point anymore… Everywhere I go, everything I do, bad things always happen. You must realize Mariko, karma follows me wherever I go." At that last part he raised his voice significantly and his tone changed from sorrowful to irate. He took a long pause before he suddenly yelled, "WHY HAS WORLD HAS CURSED ME!?" Though after this, he quickly shifted his mood back to what it was before.

"What kind of father banishes his own son…" He said to himself as he slumped his shoulders and began to slowly cry again, clearly feeling very conflicted over his actions.

Mariko knelt down beside her father and placed her paw on his shoulder to try and comfort him. When she did this she heard him say, "I appreciate you trying to comfort me Sweetheart, but it's too late for me. I have nothing left to live for. And for this reason, I have decided that I must leave this world…"

Mariko was taken back, and she released her paw from his shoulder. Her expression changed from that of worry, to annoyance and frustration. She jumped up to the elevated rock right beside her father and performed a rapid spinning maneuver on one foot which began to blow the clouds and mist away from the area, and thus illuminating this once dreary setting.

Once the light of the golden skies around the mountains shone through the area around the pool, Mariko jumped down and now stood in front of her depressed Panda father. "How dare you say that!? 'I have nothing left to live for'!? What about your friends that care about you!? What about Mom!… What about me!?" She angrily ranted at him, trying to get his attention.

At this, Po looked up from the ground and sighed, while looking over to his side, trying to avoid maintaining eye contact with his daughter who clearly had a good point.

"Father, please… You have to move on from this, it's going to be hard on all of us, but we'll get through it, together. Please? For me?" Mariko asked as she hugged her father from the front and closing her eyes.

Po was surprised at first, and he didn't know what to do. But within seconds he began to feel nostalgic, he remembered the days when his daughter would happily hug him out of the love in her heart. A smile came to his face and he rose from the ground with Mariko still embracing him, he then returned the hug and told her, "Okay Sweetheart… For you."

 **2 Days Later in an Unknown Location**

It was quite dark, the only form of light being the flickers of flame from a nearby torch. Genji opened his eyes weakly, to the point where they were halfway open. He couldn't see in much detail, as he looked up at what he thought to be a rock ceiling. And within a few seconds, the rest of his senses began to return to him, he could smell the nearby fumes from the torch, and he could hear the flames and sparks. But seconds later, he began to feel what felt like a cold wet rag being applied on certain parts of his body.

He could sense that someone was standing right beside him, and out of pure instinct, he opened his eyes fully and lunged out, grabbing the figure's arm with great force. He heard the person gasp and panic slightly. He got up off of what he now knew was a type of medical table and looked the figure, examining them. It was a middle aged Asiatic Lioness who was nearly half a foot shorter than him. "Who are you, and where the hell am I!?" He asked with an obvious amount of anger and irritation.

The Lioness struggled to get out of Genji's hold on her, but to no avail, for Genji was far to strong to be deterred. He exposed his teeth and unsheathed the claws on his other arm and threatened her, asking, "I'll ask you one more time, who are you, and where am I!?" Though this time he spoke much louder and closer to the Lioness.

But before Genji heard an answer, another voice in the room spoke up, "It seems our special guest has awoken…"

Genji turned his head around without letting go of the Lioness' arm and noticed another figure was walking into the dimly lit room, while being accompanied by two other figures at each side. They were coming from a darker area in the room, but he could easily see them in good detail thanks to his keen night vision. The one in the middle was nearly his height, perhaps an inch or two shorter, and was also a feline, to be specific, a male Asiatic Lion. He could tell that they were relatively old, at best 40 years old, and he could also see many scars on their face along with a small chunk of their mane bellow their chin missing. Accompanying the male were two other Lioness' though they seemed much younger than him, probably not much older than Genji himself. All of the Lioness' wore the same dark gray Fukamen and Uwagi which concealed many of their features. Though the male instead wore a black robe which didn't look of Chinese design.

Genji began growling defensively at the new figures and he let go of the Lioness he had in his grasp, making her thump into the wall which he had pinned her up to.

The Lion scoffed at Genji's behavior and said, "You may calm yourself my young Tiger friend, I have no intention on harming you."

Genji still wasn't convinced, and he asked once more, "I want answers! Where am I? And who are all of you!"

The Male answered, "I understand your concern my young friend, you need not panic, we have brought you inside a cave in the territory of my clan. I am the leader of the Rishi clan of Mongolia, you may call me Jian, and these are my personal guards." The Lion pointed at each of the young Lioness' beside him.

Genji looked surprised at hearing this news, 'I'm in Mongolia?' He wondered while staring at the Lion intently. Genji had read many scrolls inside the Jade Palace about Mongolia, almost all of them depicted the Mongols as savages and extremely aggressive people, which was surprising considering how hospitable they were being right now. But perhaps it was because they didn't know Genji's origin yet, or was it something else? 'Either way, I can't reveal my whole past to them, or too much about me.'

He had never seen this Lion before, but he had heard of a foe who his Father fought before he was born that went by the same name. It couldn't be a coincidence, as the battle scars told the whole story. Another reason he couldn't reveal his past or upbringing.

"How did I get here?" Genji asked, trying to break the silence in the cave.

"We found your body half buried in sand in the north of the Gobi Desert, you were unconscious and severely deprived of food and water. We brought you here to my camp and our healer was able to nurse you back to proper health from your near death condition." At this the Lion looked to the Lioness who Genji had initially lashed out at.

Genji took a step back and sat down on the table he had woken up on. Then he sighed and looked down at the ground, just thinking.

"Now it is my turn to ask the questions." Jian said as he now moved up closer, but still accompanied by his guards.

"First thing I want to know, is how did you get so far into the desert on your own without the slightest bit of food and water?" Jian asked, looking down at the young Tiger.

"I was banished from my country. So I fled to find new land." Genji replied simply, but not looking up at the Lion who prodded him.

Jian didn't seem to appreciate the simple answer, but continued on anyway, "I'd like to know, I've never seen a Tiger with black patches around their eyes, or even close to the same height as yourself… Just who are you?"

Genji knew he couldn't give the true answer to these questions, or else the Lion might find out his origin, so he came up with the only other name that he could think of and lied, "I'm **Akuma** , and as for the black patches, you could say they are a simple genetic defect…"

Jian seemed to try to tell if the Tiger was lying or not, because to him, something about this Tiger seemed familiar…

"Interesting, and where do you come from, may I ask, Akuma?"

 _~"I like the sound of that, what a fitting name for you, Akuma…"~_

Genji heard his subconscious tell him, but he ignored the mental voice and replied to the question, "I used to live in China, that was before my fa-… My former **Master** banished me from my home, and cast me away." Genji corrected himself mid-sentence as he didn't want to mention his father who had disowned him. 'He is no longer my father anyway…' He thought as he looked down at the ground whilst developing an inner rage, making him growl through his teeth.

Jian looked at either side, acknowledging both of the guards beside him, and he then proceeded to ask, "And what do you seek now?"

"Revenge, and power." Genji answered while beginning to growl slightly louder and more violently.

The Lion seemed to form a grin upon hearing the Tiger's words, and he replied quickly, "Well then, it seems our interests aren't so different, we may have use for you after all, young Tiger. You see, for years us Mongolians have been forced to live in these harsh climates and territories, to fight for survival day after day. We were exiled to these harsh lands by Emperor Huang, the first Emperor of China, and now, by Emperor Xiong."

"Nearly 20 years ago, I had an army large enough to conquer the entire country, and reclaim what is rightfully ours! But my plans were foiled, foiled by two individuals, one being a Panda, who called himself the Dragon Warrior. When I rebuild the strength to invade the country, I will murder the Dragon Warrior by my own hand, and we will finally reclaim the land we once owned."

'So he is the same Jian from my fa-… From my former Master's stories…' Genji thought as he listened to the Lion's statement.

"If you have an army, then why do wait?" Genji asked.

Jian seemed to become angry with this statement, and the Lion clenched his fists while walking over to a wall of the cave with his back turned to Genji. "I HAD an army, I no longer possess the troops needed to conquer the country. My higher ranking soldiers had a fallout when I was defeated in combat by the Dragon Warrior's attendant, now, they each run their own clans in different regions of Mongolia." And upon saying this, Jian punched the stone wall out of anger.

"Although, things may be looking up for us now…" At this, he turned to face Genji. He then walked slowly over to the Tiger who still looked down to the ground, seemingly deep in thought.

"It seems fate has brought us together, no?"

 _~"It seems he intends to form an alliance with you, you may still have a chance to exact your revenge on your Sister and your father, on all of China! However, he will probably be unwilling to share his power with you, I recommend that you find a way to overthrow him when you ultimately come to power."~_

Genji listened to the voice in his head, and this time he decided to follow its advice.

Genji now stood up from the bench and replied, "Perhaps… It is the will of the universe, I will help you in your quest to reclaim China." He then knelt down in respect to the Lion, while hiding his face which held an expression that seemed to hold an obvious amount of deceit.

This satisfied Jian, and the Lion proceeded, "In exchange, you may take out your revenge on all those who have wronged you in the past, and we shall be truly respected!"

Genji deviously smiled whilst still hiding his face and kneeling. 'His ignorance of my intentions will be his undoing…' The young Tiger thought to himself.

 _~"You're learning quick Genji Ping, or should I call you, Akuma?"~_

Jian was now smiling contently, "Rise, my Tiger friend, I think its time I showed you the rest of the camp. This cave becomes quite claustrophobic after time, come."

And with this, Genji rose from his kneeling position and followed the Lion who was rejoined by his personal guards.

 **2 Days Earlier, Back at the Jade Palace at Sundown**

Po was just outside the Hall of Heroes, which he had only recently reached. He came here because of something he noticed from earlier, a strange trail of dried drops of blood which had initially come from the training hall. He had visited the training hall to try and find clues as to why his son had lashed out so violently towards his sister, and this trail of blood was most peculiar to him. Judging by how the blood was more brown than red, it must have been over 2 days old.

'Strange, I could have sworn I didn't see this the day it happened, but maybe I was just too caught up in the moment…' He thought to himself as he followed it inside the Hall of Heroes where it originated from. As he walked into the massive building, he began to see the familiar Kung Fu artifacts which he had idolized when he was younger. They were all in their proper places, except one of them… _The Kunai of Akuma_ , which was missing from its case. But when he saw were the trail of blood led, he found where it was. The trail of blood led to a small puddle of the red fluid that had since dried, and just beside this puddle was the trowing knife which also had bloodstains on its blade. 'Now this is odd…' He thought as he knelt down and examined the scene. To anyone else, this would look like a murder scene, but Po knew there was no such murder.

As he examined the scene for potential clues, he heard footsteps coming from behind. He looked back and saw his eldest and now only son, Hao who was accompanied by his younger sister Mariko. They reached him shortly after, and Hao proceeded to greet his father, "Hi Dad, Mari filled me in on what happened… Are you okay?"

Po shook his head while looking down at the bloodstained floor, "For the moment, no, I will never be able to forgive myself for this, but for now I must put it aside and get to the bottom of it…"

Hao walked over to his adoptive father's side and placed his paw on the Panda's shoulder and also began to look at the scene before them.

Po stroked his chin and then proceeded to ask, "Mariko, when Genji came into the training hall before the incident, did anything about him seem… Off?"

At this Mariko nodded and replied, "Yes, he was acting incredibly aggressive and he had a small gash which was openly bleeding out on his left thumb… Why do you ask?"

Po's expression became worried, he had a solid deduction on what happened now. "Well, we now know why he was bleeding that day." He answered, whilst picking up the bloodied Kunai from the floor.

His back was turned to his son and daughter who stood behind him, and he proceeded to ask, "Was there anything else about him that seemed different?"

"Well, I can barely recall it, my memory of the event is vague, probably because of the trauma and injuries I suffered, but I remember this strange dark reddish aura which emitted from his eyes. Though it's probably just my mind playing tricks on me…" She answered while scratching the fur on the top of her head.

At this, both Po's and Hao's eyes lit up, and they each gasped in realization. Though Hao's reaction was more of surprise, Po's became enraged. He stood up from his kneeling position immediately, and without saying a word to either of his children he stormed out of the hall whilst taking the bloody throwing knife with him.

Mariko was very confused at the situation, and she looked at her father who was now leaving in a hurry and asked, "Wait, Daddy! Where are you going? What happened?" To which he didn't answer her.

She started to chase after him, as he trotted down the stone stairs toward the Palace Arena. Hao followed along too as they pursued their father. He quickly ran up to the Panda and stopped him by the shoulder saying, "Father, I know where you're going, but let us come with you so that we can help!"

"No, you two will stay here, and I will go alone. Mariko, when you are fully recovered, I want you to resume your training. And Hao, I know you have dedicated your life to the culinary arts, but I also need you to resume your training when you can. We will all need to prepare for what is to come… I will return within the next day, that's assuming he gives me the answers I need…" Po strictly told both of his children. And with that, he turned his back and continued on his way.

Mariko and Hao watched their father head on towards the middle of the Palace arena, but not before they heard him say under his breath, "I swear if he's responsible for this, I **WILL** kill him…"

And without saying a word, he performed the Wuxi Finger hold technique on himself and vanished from their sight, leaving a large gold beam of Chi which pulsated in every direction. Mariko used her arm to shield her eyes from the bright beam of Chi that was nearly blinding.

Once the dust had settled in the arena, she faced her older brother who still stood beside her and asked, "What was that all about?"

To which Hao looked to her with a bit of a frown, "Why don't we head back to the barracks and I'll tell you about it over tea?"

Mariko nodded and they proceeded to make their way over to the student Barracks dinning hall.

 **1 Hour Later at the Entrance to Chorh Gom Prison…**

It was quite a dark and dreary setting high in the Himalayan mountains, snow was falling from the sky at a slow pace, but consistent enough to cover the ground. The guards of the front entrance of the Prison stood strong at their stations in front of the large doors.

All of a sudden, a bright golden aura began to emanate from near the entrance. Beams of Chi swirled through the air as they were intertwined with pink peach pedals. This was certainly a weird sight for the Rhino guards, and they all raised their spears in preparation from a potential attack.

But once the beams of Chi stopped, a figure dropped to the stone floor, landing right near them. When they recognized this figure, they all immediately put their weapons away and stood straight, saluting the Panda who had just arrived.

"Greetings, Dragon Warrior. I must say, your presence is quite a surprise." The Captain of the guards greeted as he approached the Panda from the doors of the front entrance.

Po began to walk past the Captain as he simply said, "I wish to see the Prisoner."

The Captain began to follow the Dragon Warrior at the side, and answered, "Very well, I will escort you to him."

And with that, the Captain led Po to the only prisoner of this massive complex, Akuma the tyrant.

After a long descent down to the bottom level of the prison via the small pulley lift, they had arrived at the bottom of the massive chasm. And straight ahead was where the prisoner was held. The setting was very dark, it was debatable whether natural light had ever reached this area. But this didn't matter to Po, and he asked the Captain in a cold tone, "Leave us."

The Captain raised a brow, but nodded and proceeded to leave towards the lift, along with the other Rhino guards who were stationed at the multiple large crossbows which were aimed directly at the prisoner.

With everyone gone and out of earshot, Po made his way over towards where the prisoner was, a small circular sanctum looking area with only one resident, Akuma. As he approached, he began to hear what sounded like grunts and groans of pain. They were definitely coming from the tall Komodo Dragon before him, and he could now tell why.

It had been nearly 18 years since he had last seen his latest foe, and he wasn't happy to see the villain now. Akuma was groaning in the excruciating pain which he was in at the moment, from what Po could tell, the lizard was shedding the scales on his skin which fell to the ground before him. In fact, the ground was littered with the scales, and normally anyone else would have felt sympathetic towards the reptilian, but not Po. Po saw how he was bidden to the ground by very thick and probably quite heavy iron chains and shackles. The chains were attached in a way that made the lizard's arms splay out to the sides and kept him from moving them.

Po looked down at the Komodo Dragon and said in a cold and emotionless tone, "You know why I've come here, don't you?"

The Lizard looked up with a sadistic grin and answered with a raspy voice, "Of course… Dragon Warrior..."

 **A/N: There's chapter 7! Hope you all enjoyed it! Some familiar faces showing up from the last few stories I've written, now we'll just have to see what roles they play. The next chapter is going to introduce some new concepts as well as become a bit darker (personality wise) So stay tuned! If you're enjoying this story so far, be sure to Favorite, Follow and**

 **Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Deceit

Genji followed the male Lion in front of him who was accompanied by the two Lioness'. As they approached the end, he began to see a bit of natural light coming from the entrance of the cave. They kept on going until they reached the entrance to the cavern which exposed Genji to the bright sun which shewn bright in his eyes, forcing him to hold up his arm to avoid being blinded.

Once his eyes were shielded, Genji looked around to see that they had emerged out of the cave into what looked like a large arena setting. It was in the shape of a circle and it spanned nearly 300 feet in diameter with walls on every side that rose 20 feet above the ground. There were four gates of entry to this massive arena including the one he had just come from, but this wasn't what interested him. It was rather the fact that there were seemingly dozens of other animals all dressed in combat armour who were in the middle of training against one another. There were all kinds of warriors, though they were almost all made up of larger mammal species such as other felines, bears, and even wolverines.

"Hmmm…" Genji hummed as he stroked his chin while examining the warriors who each fought against a training partner.

Jian looked over at the Tiger who appeared to be studying what was left of his once great army. He formed a small grin and remarked, "My, aren't we interested?" By this he was referring to the Tiger's sudden fascination.

Genji turned to face the Lion for a moment, but then immediately shift his focus back to what captivated him. His attention focused on the large group of animals training in the art of combat, he began to also form a small smile, though it seemed satisfied, it hid his devious thoughts.

~"They will serve you well, of course that is when you overthrow their leader. However, you will need a larger army to invade China…"~

'So what do you think?' Another voice said as Genji pondered the thought by his inner voice.

Genji had drifted off into thought so much that he had completely forgotten for a moment that someone was now addressing him, "-I said what do you think?"

The young Tiger shook his head around to get himself out of his trance, but answered, "I think that there is great potential…"

At this, the Lion raised a brow and asked, "By the way, I wish to know, you said earlier that you had a former master…"

The Tiger nodded and replied, "Yes, my Master taught me in the art of Kung Fu for nearly my whole life, though he only taught me so much, as he always focused more on teaching my worthless sister…" After finishing his sentence, Genji began to twitch slightly with anger over thinking about his sister who had always irritated him.

"Curious… I would like to see just how good of a fighter you are, young Tiger." The Lion said.

Genji's eyes looked over at the Lion who had his arms folded with a neutral expression. "What do you have in mind?" The Tiger asked.

"Well, how's about I put your skills to the test, you may fight my strongest warriors in one on one combat." The Lion replied while forming a small smile.

With that, Jian whispered something into the ear of one of his guards, and immediately the Lioness left towards a nearby latter which lead to a higher point in the arena where Genji now noticed a small balcony or viewing platform. He then heard a loud sound which had to have come from some sort of horn. This got the attention of everyone in the arena.

After the loud sound, almost all the warriors were now looking in the direction of Genji. Jian walked forward and loudly announced, "Now that I have your attention, I would like all of you to meet our latest recruit." He paused for a moment to point to his side at the large male Tiger who was now the center of attention, but then resumed, "This is Akuma, and I would like to test his combat prowess. Does anyone wish to challenge our new warrior!?"

There was a silence which followed Jian's statement, but before long, a contender stepped forward. A massive brown bear nearly a foot taller than Jian, though only a few inches taller than Genji. He merely wore a pair of pants and had what looked like battle scars scattered across his body.

"Ah, Brawn, I had a feeling you might be the first to volunteer." The Lion said whilst now looking over to the massive brute of a bear.

And within seconds, the warriors who were previously scattered across the grounds formed an organized circle, leaving Brawn in the center. Genji looked towards the Lion beside him who simply said, "After you." And with that, Genji walked into the circle and faced his opponent. As he stepped into the circle, Genji prepared himself by assuming his defensive stance, and then he patiently waited for the fight to begin.

'This will be a good warm up, I haven't had a decent fight in a few days…' He thought as he examined his opponent, studying the bear for any noticeable weakness. From the looks of it, his opponent was quite strong physically, and also quite bulky.

But before anything else, Genji heard the sound of the horn again, signifying the start of the match. Upon hearing the sound, the Bear immediately charged after him on all fours with great speed and power, but Genji wasn't intimidated. He held his ground until the Bear was just about to hit him, and just before Brawn rammed into him, he quickly jumped over top and allowed the momentum of the Bear to miss him completely. He landed behind the confused opponent and folded his arms, almost mocking Brawn.

"You'll have to do better than that." He said confidently, while resuming his defensive stance. This definitely rattled his opponent, and the Bear responded by standing on his hind legs and regaining his height advantage over the Tiger. He then charged at the Tiger again, sending punches flying so fast that they made shock waves with every swing. But none of the Bear's attempts worked, as Genji weaved and dodged each blow with absolute ease. This frustrated Brawn further, and he now threw out more punches at the confident Tiger.

But after a while of taunting and playing with his opponent, Genji decided he would en this fight. So he skillfully caught the wrist of the Bear as he tried to send a powerful punch at his face, and he then brought Brawn's left arm behind his back in a painful arm lock. Genji could feel the Bear struggling to get out of the lock, but he stopped this by pinning the brute to the ground while still keeping Brawn's left arm locked behind his back.

"ARGH! Let go you imbecile!" The Bear shouted as he unsuccessfully tried to get Genji off with his other arm, but couldn't quite reach because of the awkward situation. This prompted Genji to grin mischievously and he responded by deviously saying, "If you say so…"

And then, he proceeded to twist the Bear's arm until he heard a "POP!" A loud roar of pain followed this sound as the Bear's shoulder had been dislocated from the pressure Genji used. The Tiger then released Brawn's arm and stepped back, allowing the Bear to get up, which he did, but with some difficulty due to his left arm having been dislocated.

"You… You'll pay for that!" Brawn angrily yelled at him, having gotten back to his feet. And then he came charging at the Tiger, readying himself to use his right arm to punch his opponent as hard as he could. But just before the punch hit its mark, Genji himself sent a hard punch directly at the Bear's fist. When the punches collided, a loud "Crack" sound was heard, and one of the warriors dropped down to the ground.

Once the warrior landed on the ground in a kneeling position, after a delayed painful reaction, they roared in agony from the fact that each of their knuckles had just been shattered. Genji looked down at his fallen opponent and gave a discontent scowl at the lackluster fighter who he had easily defeated. While Brawn shouted out in agony, he looked around at the rest of the warriors and asked in a menacing tone, "Anyone else?"

 **Meanwhile, at the Bottom of Chorh Gom Prison**

"Let me guess, you wanted to check up on me after all these years. Is that it?" The Komodo Dragon asked, while grinning deviously.

Po immediately dismissed this though and cut straight to the chase, "You can quit the act, devil! I know what you did." He said, his anger growing with every second.

"Oh do you? And just what exactly could I have possibly done to earn the attention of the 'almighty Dragon Warrior'?" The Lizard asked before grunting in discomfort again as he yielded to the pain of his scales peeling off of his skin.

Po cared nothing for the pain in which the reptilian was feeling at the moment, and it didn't help that Akuma was not giving the answers he wanted. "Enough with your lies! You know very well what you have done, Akuma!" He yelled as he got even closer to the Komodo Dragon with his anger to the point where he was beginning to shake with rage.

"I have done a lot of things, Dragon Warrior. But tell me, what reason do I have to lie to you?" The Lizard asked, now sounding a bit irritated and still in deep discomfort from shedding his scales.

Po had nearly had enough of the Lizard's deceit, and he proceeded to walk up and grab the reptilian by the neck and hoist him up off the stone ground. His Chi began to leak and radiate around him, with golden rays of energy emitting from his body like sweat on a hot day. As he lifted the Komodo Dragon into the air, he began to growl angrily and he then he shouted through a fit of rage, "Do not pretend to be ignorant with me! I see through your deceit! You have taken MY son from me! Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't take YOUR life!"

The Lizard couldn't put up any resistance to the Panda's hold on him, albeit because his arms were cuffed to the stone floor, but even if he could, he doubted he could overpower the strong bear. As his throat was tightly held, he began to struggle to breath, and through his gasps he weakly replied, "I… 'GAK' Don't… Know what your talking about..."

Po growled at the Lizard's continuous ignorance, but then realized that he was applying too much pressure to the reptilian's throat and causing Akuma to suffocate. So he let go, and allowed the Komodo Dragon to drop to the ground and catch his breath which he desperately needed. The Lizard panted for nearly a minute before looking up at Po who had his arms crossed as he waited for the reptilian to recover.

Once he sensed that Akuma was beginning to catch his breath again, he spoke in his original cold tone, "I know it was you, Akuma. That much is clear to me. Though your reasoning is a mystery to me. Why? Why my son!?" He ended with a bit more agitation.

The Komodo Dragon raised his head to look at the Panda in the eyes with a smile that reeked of trickery and he said, "As much as I would love to cause such grief to my former rival, what makes you think that I am responsible for this?"

"You have corrupted my son with your neurotoxin which you attempted to use on me 20 years ago, somehow the toxin on your knives remained potent for all this time. And it just so happened that my son stumbled across this Kunai which I kept as a memento." With this, Po pulled out the bloodied throwing knife which he had brought along in his travel pack and showed it to his former enemy.

The reptilian seemed to examine the knife with a bit of interest before shrugging and replying, "This still means nothing Dragon Warrior, I have been locked up in this prison in complete isolation, unable to manipulate anyone, to even speak with anyone for 20 years. How could I have possibly done what you accuse me of?"

Po scowled, but was beginning to see how fruitless this was, the Demon was clearly not going to give him the answers he wanted. So he put the bloody knife back in his pack and began to leave, but not before he said, "Whatever you're planning, it won't work for you in the end. Evil never prevails over the light."

And with that, he left towards the pulley lift which had been dropped down. He stepped on to the lift and tugged at the line in the center, indicating that he was ready to be lifted up.

"Oh we shall see about that… 'Dragon Warrior'…" The one eyed Komodo Dragon quietly muttered to himself as he brought his head down to stare at the stone floor again.

As Po was brought up to the top levels of the massive chasm, he thought to himself, 'I know he is plotting something, and whatever it is has to do with Genji… We will all need to prepare ourselves for what is to come…'

Upon reaching the top level where the exit was, he was greeted again by the Rhino captain from earlier, "So, was he compliant?" The Rhino asked while accompanying Po toward the exit.

"No, however, I really recommend that you keep a close eye on him from now on. If you notice anything strange or unnatural about him, I want to hear about it." Po answered as he and the guard arrived at the large doors to the exit of the prison.

"Understood, we will do as you wish Dragon Warrior." The guard replied while opening the doors to to reveal the cold setting in the Himalayan mountains.

Po nodded, and before he left, he said, "I fear that there is a rising evil, one which we will need to prepare for. We must all be ready for what will come…" And with this, he bowed to the captain in respect, to which the captain returned the gesture and watched as the Panda vanished after performing the Wuxi finger hold technique.

 **Back at the Student Barracks Dinning Hall**

"So what you're saying is that this Akuma guy was one of the villains that Daddy fought all those years ago? And now he thinks that this guy is the reason why Genji went berserk?" Mariko asked her brother while taking a sip of her cup of jasmine tea.

"That's about the sum short." Her older brother explained while also preparing his own peppermint tea which he preferred with milk.

Mariko looked deep in thought, after hearing a long explanation from her brother about why their father had left. "I wonder why father never told Genji or myself about this, surely it wouldn't have done any harm…"

Hao shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I don't know why he never told you and your brother, but he must have had a good reason. After all, it was a very traumatic experience for all of us."

"Oh, I guess that's right, and didn't you say that you were really young when it happened?" Mariko asked, looking up from her thoughts.

"Yes, I was only 5 at the time, and I had never been more scared in my life. But even so, I feel that had it not been for the incident at the orphanage, Mother would never had adopted me in the first place. It seems almost like it was destined to happen, or at least, that's probably what Father would say." Hao replied while looking down at the table and thinking about the events that had happened nearly 20 years ago. Though several decades had past ever since, he still remembered it as if it were only yesterday, he remembered when those bandits raided the orphanage and when that creepy Komodo Dragon used him as a hostage. He remembered when Po returned after months of being captured, and was under the influence of Akuma's mind controlling toxin.

"-Brother? Hao! Are you alright?" He heard, and he immediately snapped out of his daze which he hadn't even known he was in. "Sorry Mari, I was just lost there for a moment." He replied to try to reassure his younger sister.

"Gosh, you had me worried there for a second, don't do that to me okay?" Mariko scolded him while starting to settle down. To which Hao nodded in understanding. Then she continued, "So, what do you think happened to Genji? Do you think he actually did what Father told him to?"

Hao frowned slightly, but replied anyway, "Well, from what the Five told me, Genji left the valley of peace straight away, and apparently he was seen traveling north towards Mongolia. But that's about all I know, though if it's your brother we're talking about, he will definitely never forget this…"

"What do you mean?" She asked, not understanding his last statement.

"Mariko, have you never wondered why your brother acted so cold towards you?" Hao asked, before Mariko quickly replied, "Well, father said something when I was younger about him being really competitive or something-"

"It was because of his jealousy of you Mari. Ever since you two began to speak, Genji was always jealous of you. Now I may not have been around home a lot since I spent so much time working with Grandfather Ping in the noodle shop, but even I noticed how blatantly obvious it was." Hao said, interrupting Mariko for a moment.

He continued, "The reason I say he'll never forget about this, is because every time you would get more attention than him from Mom and Dad, every time Dad took you on adventures instead of him, and every time you would beat him in sparring matches, he would remember…"

Mariko looked as though she felt guilty after hearing her brother's response, she had known of how competitive Genji could be, but even so, she still felt responsible for Genji having turned out so envious of her.

"Don't feel bad Sis, there's nothing you could have done." Hao told her as he placed a paw on her shoulder in reassurance.

"Thanks big brother." She replied, giving him a short hug which he returned before they released each other.

"Now come on, let's head over to the courtyard, we need to begin our training again. Plus it'll give me a chance to see what you've learned while I've been away." Hao said with an optimistic smile.

"Alright big brother, but I'm warning you, I won't go easy!" She replied with a steady amount of confidence.

And with that, they each shared a laugh as they headed over to the training courtyard.

 **A/N: Chapter 8 at last, only a few more before things really start to get interesting… All spoilers aside, I'd like to thank everyone who's been so loyal and sticking with me even though my updates aren't as fast as they used to be. (I'm trying to post 1 chapter a week, but college is just too much for that)**

 **Anyway, as always, please favorite and follow this story if you're enjoying it so far. And also, please**

 **Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Believe

"Anyone else?" Genji asked as he looked around the ring of animals for a new potential challenger. But no one stepped forward, for they could not stop looking at the Bear behind him who was still shouting in agony from the injuries Genji had given him.

The Tiger began to get impatient, and he raised his voice a little, "Well!?" This got the attention of some of the warriors, they looked at him, but none seemed willing to challenge him after sing how easily he defeated one of their best warriors.

Though instead of a challenge, Genji heard the sounds of laughter coming from Jian, "It seems we have an incredible warrior in our midst! I dare say, I have never met anyone with as good talent in combat as you, my friend." The Lion said with an impressed mannerism as he walked over to stand beside the Tiger.

Genji grinned mischievously and thought 'oh really?' Then Jian continued, "Does no one wish to challenge our new recruit? If not then, I think I'll just appoint him to my right hand man-"

"Wait!" Interupted a voice from within the crowd.

Just then, another Warrior stepped out from inside the circle, a Wolverine. "Ahh, Diavol, I knew you could not resist a good challenge. Very well then, it seems we now have a new challenger. So let the battle begin…" Jian said, as he left Genji's side and returned to the circle.

At this, Genji readied himself, he had read in the palace scrolls that Wolverines were some of the most naturally ferocious animals. They may not be as tall as him, but he had heard stories of wolverines taking on much larger animals and winning. 'I can't under estimate him, after all, looks can be deceiving sometimes...' Genji thought to himself.

"I will not allow for some stranger to suddenly join our ranks and then be granted Lord Jian's right hand man… So prepare yourself, Akuma." The Wolverine said with a rough and edgy voice, definitely the sign that he had seen action before.

Genji didn't reply to the Wolverine, and simply signaled for Diavol to attack him. Diavol sure enough, lunged at Genji with a knife hand thrust, a deadly technique which Genji had taught himself years ago. The Tiger skillfully dodged the unparryable attack and proceeded to attempt to leg sweep the Wolverine, but Diavol was more skilled than he expected, and the Wolverine managed to avoid getting tripped as he jumped over Genji's leg and out of the way.

Genji was impressed to say the least, he hadn't expected anyone in Jian's ranks to be as good as he. But he decided not to get too carried away, and went on the offensive. He ran up to Diavol, and performed a slide kick maneuver which the Wolverine wasn't expecting. This managed to trip Diavol and made him land forward behind the Tiger who quickly got up and attempted to quickly end the fight with a KO to the face. But Diavol reacted just in time and rolled out of the way, leaving Genji to punch the ground instead.

Genji grinned at how close he had been to knocking his opponent out, his arrogance showed, and was definitely noticed by Diavol who just scoffed at the Tiger's pride. Genji decided he was going to wait for his opponent to make the next move, he circled around the Wolverine, not taking his eyes off the fighter. And eventually, Diavol made a move, attempting to hit him with a powerful spin kick, but was unsuccessful as Genji was ready and caught the Wolverine's foot mid air and managed to pull Diavol's foot from underneath him and trip him again. Acting quickly, Genji grabbed Diavol by the back and lifted the Wolverine up with a great amount of strength, to which his opponent struggled to get out of his hold. But Genji was too strong to be swayed, and he then took his opponent and performed a suplex takedown maneuver which sent the Wolverine crashing into the ground on the back of his head, effectively knocking Diavol out.

Genji then kipped up and looked at the surprised Lion and asked, "Do you happen to have any other worthy challengers? My Lord?" He stood over top of his beaten opponent with his arms folded as if to say, "I'm bored." Jian couldn't help but grin in satisfaction at having seen the Tiger's skills first hand. And from what he saw, he was impressed.

Jian gave a chuckle as he went up and joined the Tiger who stood in the middle of the circle of shocked warriors. "I must say, I have never seen someone with your combat prowess, my friend. Color me impressed." He said with an impressed demeanor as he walked over and stood at Genji's side and then silently addressed the Tiger personally, "What do you say? Become my right hand man, and I will allow you to command these warriors."

Genji grinned and replied, "I would be honored, my Lord." He then thought, 'This is already turning out better than I had hoped. Now that I have earned his faith, I will be able to overthrow him soon...'

~"A good plan, but you have nowhere near the numbers you'll need to invade China yet. I suggest you use Jian to amass a larger army of his former ranks, that way no one will be able to stop you..."~

Jian then interrupted Genji from his internal conversation with the voice in his head, "Good, then you can follow me to my personal quarters. We have some things to discuss."

Genji nodded in agreement and followed the Lion who was accompanied by his two guards, leaving the circle of stunned warriors to look over at their defeated comrade who still lay on the ground unconscious.

* * *

Po was on his way back home from Chorh Gom Prison as he traveled through the spirit realm via a small row boat. He had only been journeying for around 20 minutes, though to him it went much quicker as he had been developed in deep thought for nearly the entire journey back.

'I am a disgrace to my family… I banished my own son from the country. And now he will never return…' He thought grimly as he kept on rowing the paddle which kept the boat traveling across the golden river of Chi.

As he drew closer to his destination, he thought back to his earlier interrogation with his former enemy Akuma. 'I know Akuma is responsible for all this. But what will I do with him… If I had not restrained myself when I did, I probably would have killed him.' As Po thought this, he finally reached where he was going, a small island amongst all the others with a lonely tree residing on its shores. The boat came to a stop when it reached the shore of the small island, and Po got out.

But when he stepped foot on the island, he heard a familiar voice address him, "Dragon Warrior…" To which Po looked up and saw Master Oogway slowly descending from a branch on the tree above. Thanks to the lack of substantial gravity in the spirit realm, Oogway freely floated down to where he was close enough to have a chat with his true successor.

"Master Oogway." po greeted back, giving a bow in respect to the elder master.

Oogway smiled, "It is good to see you again, especially after it's been so long." The Tortoise said, and he made a fair point, for he hadn't actually seen the Panda in quite some time. 18 years in fact.

"Yes, it is good to see you again Master." Po answered, but stopped himself from saying more, which the Tortoise easily noticed.

"I sense you are deeply troubled my friend, may I ask, what ails you?" Oogway asked, now descending to the ground to stand, or rather float in front of the Panda at eye level.

Po looked embarrassed and felt ashamed, and he didn't want his former Master to see him this way, but his present mood made it hard to hide his sorrow and anguish from the wiser and more experienced Tortoise. So he confessed, "I'm conflicted, Master. I simply don't know what to do at the present moment, or what to even think or believe..."

Oogway understood the Panda's state, and he placed his hand on Po's shoulder in mutual understanding. Looking Po in the eye, he said, "Young Po, I understand how this present situation may seem grim and daunting, but I assure you, you are doing the right thing."

Po was surprised by this, and he tried to argue, "But Master! I banished my own son! And he is still out there, and still under Akuma's influence!"

Po wanted to keep arguing, but before he could, another familiar voice chimed in, "It's not like you to sulk like this, Dragon Warrior."

Just from behind Oogway, he could see his former Master Shifu. Shifu had since past on from the mortal realm and now also resided in the spirit realm along with his Master and old friend Oogway for the last 10 years. His passing had come as a surprise to everyone, and especially to Tigress who had mourned the ascension of her adoptive father.

"But Master Shifu, I cannot simply forgive myself for what I've done! I banished my own son-" Po tried to continue arguing before he was silenced by the elder Red Panda who interrupted him.

"Do you think that you're the only person in the world who had to cast away their son? Hmm Dragon Warrior?" Shifu stated factually.

Po opened his mouth as if to retort, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He took a couple seconds to ponder this, then he argued back, "But Master! This is different! You sent Tai Lung to prison, and I banished my son from the entire country..."

Shifu would have none of this though, "It is no different Dragon Warrior! Sending my son to prison was the most difficult thing I ever did in my life! And it still haunts me to this day… Though over time, I began to see how my decision was for the betterment of everyone, Tai Lung was a menace to society, and there was no changing that. Well, no changing it until you came along."

Po hung his head in shame and refused to look the other Masters in the eye, this prompted Oogway to address him again, "Young Po, I understand that this is a difficult time in your life, however, you have made the right decision, and now you must help the rest to prepare for what shall inevitably come. Do you not remember what I told you on that mountain all those years ago, Dragon Warrior?"

Po again didn't reply, which led Oogway to continue, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift." He again placed his hand on Po's shoulder and raised the Panda's chin to look him in the eye. "Now, rise Dragon Warrior. You must fulfill your destiny and keep the lands rid of evil."

Po again looked down, "But how can I keep people safe if I can't even keep my own family safe..."

Oogway replied to him, "You must believe, my friend. Believe in yourself, and believe in those close to you. For only then will you prevail."

Po looked up at his former Master for a good second and seemed uncertain, but then immediately understood, "I see what you mean, Master. I will do my best, everyone's lives depend on it."

And with this, Po prepared to leave the spirit realm, getting out his staff and walking up to the shore of he small island.

"Thank you, Master Oogway, and to you as well, Master Shifu." Po thanked them, taking a bow of respect.

The the elder Masters both nodded in respect, acknowledging this. And with that, Po drew the symbol of the two sides in the golden Chi river, making him pass through the golden liquid and back into the realm of mortals.

* * *

At that very same moment, Hao and Mariko were making their way back from the courtyard where they had spent the last 2 hours training. It had been quite a while since Hao had trained at such intensity, and his sister certainly hadn't held anything back just like she had told him. She had beaten him in almost all their sparing matches and was also running the training course much faster, but this didn't bother him. He knew what his strengths and weaknesses were, and also his true passion of cooking.

"Gosh Mari, you weren't kidding earlier, I don't think I've been beat up that bad since Mom first starting sparing against me when I was learning to defend myself." Hao said through laughter, to which his sister replied, "You're not so bad yourself big brother, but I have to say, you're a little out of practice."

Hao chuckled and replied while scratching the top of his head, "Hey! Cut me some slack! I'm too busy becoming a world class chef! After all, there has to be someone to cook the best meals in China, doesn't there?"

To which Mariko laughed and placed a paw on her older brother's shoulder, "Oh Hao, you never change..."

The two kept on their way towards the student barracks where Hao was going to make dinner. But before they could arrive, they both noticed a small mass of peach pedals forming around the tournament arena.

Mariko and Hao both looked at one another and they each said, "Let's go!"

And so they ran up to where the peach pedals were amassing and noticed that they formed a spiraling circle. Within a few seconds, a bright golden light appeared at the center of the circle and there formed a figure which appeared to be their father, Po. And before they knew it, the whole sensation stopped as quickly as it started, as Po dropped to the ground and landed before them.

Both siblings looked at their father with anticipation at what he would say. But Mariko could hold in her impatience, "Well? Tell us how it went Daddy!" Her and Hao each looked worried, but their fears were soon addressed as Po spoke to each of them, "I'm afraid Akuma is indeed responsible for this."

Mariko and Hao both looked at each other in worry, which Po noticed and reassured them, "Mariko, Hao, everything will be alright, trust me." And then Po walked up to them and enveloped both of his children in a hug which surprised them, but they didn't resist, and rather accepted it. Po was happy to be back with his children, of course it hadn't been that long since he'd last seen them, but he had missed the happiness that they brought him.

The hug lasted a good several minutes, but Po knew that he had things to discuss with them. So he released them both and asked them, "I trust you two spent the time that I was gone training?"

To which Hao replied on behalf of both of them, "Sure did Dad, but I think I'm really out of practice, Mari beat me up and whisked me like a cracked egg!"

Mariko laughed at her brother's joke but also replied to her father, "Yes, we did Daddy, I'm sure that if Hao comes up to train more often he'll be back in shape in no time!"

Po smiled at his daughter's enthusiasm and responded, "Good, I would like each of you to keep up your training, we are all going to need to be prepared for whatever will come our way. Understand?"

They each nodded and replied, "Yes Father!" Making Po smile and bow to them in respect, a gesture in which they returned.

But just then, during the brief moment of silence, a gurgling sound was heard, "Oh my, that's embarrassing… Uh, Hao, could you by chance make something to eat? I guess I forgot that I haven't eaten in several days…" Po asked while scratching his head in embarrassment.

Both Mariko and Hao laughed and after Hao finished laughing at his father's expense, he replied, "Right this way father, I was just about to make some of Grandfather Ping's secret ingredient soup."

Po then wiped his face in relief and answered, "Thank you son, you're a lifesaver!"

Mariko and Hao again laughed at their father's statements and the three left towards the student barracks to have a peaceful meal.

* * *

When they had nearly arrived, Po was surprised to hear voices conversing in the dinning hall. But these weren't any ordinary voices, for they sounded very familiar to him. And when they finally arrived at the dinning hall, Po was delighted to see his former teammates and best friends; the furious five. They all halted their conversation for a moment and each stared at the Panda who was clearly surprised to see them here.

"Hi Po. It's been a while." Viper said on behalf of the four.

Po replied briefly with a surprised expression, "Hey guys."

But before anything else, Po felt himself almost get tackled to the ground by all four of the former furious five who hugged him tightly. They all laughed in happiness at seeing their old friend back to normal, and also reuniting with him after having not seen him in years. Po also began to laugh in happiness as he allowed the four to embrace him tightly, almost squeezing the air right out of him.

After finally releasing him, Monkey said, "We missed you so much buddy!" Followed by Mantis who echoed this, "Yeah big guy! It's been way too long!"

Po smiled at each of them and replied, "I missed you all as well! It has been far too long hasn't it?"

Crane replied, "10 years, I'm actually kind of surprised you never decided to write to us in all that time Po."

Po again scratched the top of his head in embarrassment and replied in self defence, "Hey! You know me! I've got important Dragon Warrior duties that I must keep up! Do you know how hard it is to spend a whole day meditating under a tree waiting for something to happen!? Really hard! That's how!"

The four chuckled and Crane shook his head with a smile, "Yeah, whatever Po."

But before anything else, Po noticed that there was another person in the room who he had not yet addressed. It was his wife Tigress who he had not spoken to for the last two days. She seemed as though she was waiting for something, something which Po knew. He walked up to her and stood in front of her looking into her fiery amber eyes.

"Tig-" Po started before he was interrupted by his wife who suddenly took him up in a loving hug which she definitely needed at this moment. She rested her chin on the Panda's shoulder and closed her eyes to enjoy the moment. Po was surprised at first, but then he understood and hugged her back, placing his own chin on her forehead in absolute affection.

Mantis rolled his eyes and remarked sarcastically, "Oh wow, another typical sappy Tigress and Po hug… Could this get any more cliché!?"

The four, Hao, and Mariko all laughed at the insect's comedy, but Tigress just opened her eyes and looked directly at him making a slitting throat motion which silenced him effectively.

"I'm so sorry Tigress..." Po said with a tone of absolute guilt and sadness as he kept hugging his wife whilst getting more emotional by the second.

"This is all my fault, I let Genji's heart grow so dark. I should have raised him better, I should have-" Po ranted before Tigress stopped him by placing her finger on his mouth and releasing herself from their hug, "Po, it's in the past, now we must focus on what is important, the present. Wasn't it you who taught me this years ago?" Tigress asked him as she interrupted his rant.

"I guess you're right…" Po replied, seeing the logic in his Wife's statement.

Tigress folded her arms and smiled at him knowingly, "I'm always right you silly Panda." She said flirtatiously to her husband.

Po then also began to smile again and played along, "Oh, is that so? Kitten?" He replied with the same amount of playfulness.

Mantis then sarcastically gagged and mocked them, "Oh wow! Now they're flirting! Could this get any more sappy?"

This earned the insect another death glare from the striped feline who then said in a menacing tone, "I'm giving you a 20 second head start..."

Mantis then immediately regretted his decision and gulped, " _Mommy…_ " He whimpered as he shrunk down in fear.

Monkey then looked over to him and told him, "You'd better get running buddy…"

To which Mantis didn't even reply and just zipped out of the dinning hall out of pure fear from the female Tiger's threats. When he left the room, Tigress began to giggle which came as a surprise to the rest of the masters in the room who all just stared at her in confusion.

"What!? It's just funny!" She explained as she noticed all the strange looks she was getting from her former teammates.

Viper then asked, "Who are you and what have you done to the real Tigress!?"

To which Tigress laughed and replied, "I guess it's been way too long since I've had a good laugh…"

Monkey then asked, "So… Aren't you gonna chase after Mantis?"

Tigress replied, "Nah, I'd rather leave him worrying about whether I find him or not."

At this, everyone began to laugh. It was much needed relief after all the negative events that had unfolded earlier, for everyone.

Hao then announced, "Alright everyone! Who'd like some noodles!"

Po's eyes lit up and his stomach growled from hunger, "ME!" He exclaimed from being deprived of food for the last several days.

Monkey then joked, "Once a hungry Panda, always a hungry Panda."

Everyone laughed and definitely agreed to this statement by the simian.

* * *

 **A/N: Chapter 9 at last! Can't believe it's almost 10 chapters in! I tried to end this chapter on a somewhat happy note. I noticed how glum it was getting and so I thought it could use some light! Thanks to everyone for reading so far! If you're enjoying this story so far, be sure to favorite, follow and most importantly;**

 **Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Demon

 **1 Year Later, In the Canyons of Mongolia**

The dusty winds blew across the Mongolian canyons and created a small cloud which made it difficult for anyone to keep their eyes open. But there was one individual that managed to stay out in this inhospitable weather, and that individual was a male South China Tiger with unusual black fur patches surrounding his amber eyes. He was out on this harsh day in the middle of a large training arena while absolutely demolishing a wooden training manikin. Every punch he landed chipped and broke off splinters and wooden pieces and sent them in nearly every direction. Pretty soon, the once mint training dummy was turned into a heap of firewood.

And with his final blow, the Tiger launched an almighty two handed punch right to the center of the manikin and this interaction completely obliterated it, sending wooden shards flying across the arena he trained in. After having finished it off, the Tiger took a deep breath and sighed. He then wiped off the sweat that had accumulated on his brow and thought to himself, 'That is exactly what I will do to you Sister… When I return…'

Unbeknownst to him, the Tiger was being watched the during his entire training session. For far off on the other side of the arena were several figures who had been spying on him intently. An older Male Asiatic Lion accompanied by a cloaked Lioness, it was Lord Jian and one of his personal guards.

"My Lord, he has been at this for several hours." His guard told him as they watched the Tiger begin to head back to his new living quarters in the camp.

"Hmm, indeed, I fear that our Tiger friend is becoming a great threat." Lord Jian answered to his guard as he stroked his chin, clearly in deep thought at the present moment.

The guard then looked at him and asked, "What do you plan to do about this, my Lord?"

He sighed and responded, "Nothing, for now. He has done a remarkable job in reforming our army and inspiring the soldiers, so long as he remains loyal to me, I shall make no move against him."

Jian kept on stroking his chin as he watched the Tiger retreat back to his quarters, this prompted his guard to ask, "My Lord? Is something wrong?"

Jian shook his head and replied, "There's something about our friend that seems quite familiar… He seems to remind me of someone I have fought before, someone I haven't fought since…"

And with this, Jian suddenly and quickly left in direction of his personal quarters, leaving his surprised guard behind. She then ran after him to catch up and she asked, "My Lord, is everything alright?"

To which he replied, "No, I must get to the bottom of this, there is something troubling about our Tiger friend. For now, keep a close eye on Akuma and report any suspicious activity to me."

The guard knelt in understanding and set off to adhere to her master's wishes.

* * *

Genji arrived at his personal quarters not long after leaving the arena, this room had been given to him not long after he was salvaged by Jian. It was a large room built into the side of a canyon which he had lived in for the year, and in Genji's opinion, it wasn't half bad. Ever since Jian had appointed him to his second in command he had been busy aiding the Lion in reforming the old Mongolian army. And when he wasn't busy challenging the leaders of the other clans and running errands for Jian, he was busy keeping up his training and also training the soldiers in small bits of martial arts.

After having trained hard for the last hour, Genji was quite dirty and sweaty from the physical exertion not to mention also quite tired. So he removed his black qipao vest and set it in a wet bucket where he would wash it later. Ironically, this was the same vest that he had worn when he was banished from his home by his father. The only reason why he even kept the vest was because it reminded him of his Mother who had gifted it to him. In truth, he didn't hate his Mother, she had been the only one who he had grown to love in his life, and was the only person who he ever really respected. Though Genji felt agitated that she had gone along with his father when he had been banished, he didn't blame her for it.

But just as he was about to lie down to rest after his intensive training, Genji picked up on a disturbance from in the dark hallway leading to his room. He could sense that someone was at the entrance to his quarters who was keeping a low profile. But he wasn't so easily fooled, and he didn't appreciate being watched, so he piped up in an agitated tone, "I know you're there, so you can come out and show yourself!"

At this, he heard what sounded like scurrying from where the person was, and immediately Genji reacted and back flipped to land directly in front of the person who was trying to get away. This stopped them in their tracks, and they looked like they were about to try to sneak around him, but he didn't give them the chance. He pinned the person to the wall of the hallway and examined them more closely. It was one of Jian's guards, a female Lioness who looked to be around his age, she looked nervous and also shocked.

"What are you doing spying on me?" He asked, his anger having been suppressed a little.

But when the Lioness refused to answer his question, he began to get impatient, so he pushed her away from the wall and into the hallway. "Fine, you can avoid my question. Now go tell your Master that I am doing just fine." And with this, he left to head back to his room, this time closing the door behind him.

* * *

 **Meanwhile, in a Dimly Lit Cave**

Jian was busy searching through the scrolls in his archives, he was flustered at the moment. Obsessed to find out the true origin of his second in command, and also where the Tiger got such unnatural strength and fighting prowess.

"There's something about that Tiger that has had me bothered the second I appointed him to my second in command..." Jian said to himself as he read through a scroll detailing a certain timeline in his life.

"I know he has been crucial in reforming my army, but something about him rubs me the wrong way..." He said to himself again as he rolled the scroll down further, reading every word and paying attention to every little detail.

The scroll was a log that Jian had written shortly after his first encounter with the Tiger when Akuma had woken up on the table which he had been healed on. It depicted everything from the Tiger's odd appearance to his short patience and dangerous demeanor.

"Aha! Here it is..." Jian exclaimed as he found what he was looking for.

In the log read:

 _"Upon meeting the Tiger, I was impressed to have heard how he managed to nearly traverse the_ _entire_ _Gobi desert_ _completely by himself without any food or water. And what impressed me even more was his warrior-like attitude. Now that he has allied with us, he will be crucial in helping to reform my army._

 _Although, there is something about him that seems quite familiar, for upon finding him lying in the sands of the desert, I picked up on a strange smell which came from him, it was that of another animal. It almost smelled like, a Panda? What puzzled me even more were the odd black fur patches surrounding both of his eyes. Though I have only ever met a handful of other Tigers, I have never seen one with patches like those surrounding their eyes like his._

 _When he awoke on the table in the cave, I questioned him about his origin, where he came from, and why he had those patches. Though he only vaguely answered these questions, he claims he came from China, though he did not specify where, and as for the patches, he claimed they were a genetic defect._

 _But this still bothers me, for when I witnessed him_ _fight_ _… Destroy my_ _best warriors, he dispatched them with absolute ease. And to my knowledge there has only been one person who has ever presented such skills,_ _and that was the Dragon Warrior who I fought many years ago._

 _At first I thought that this Tiger may have been related to the Dragon Warrior, but I quickly dismissed this fact as they are of different species', thus making it impossible. Though as time grows on, I will need to remain cautious of this Tiger, for he seems to have the greatest ferocity of anyone I've ever met."_

Jian remained in deep thought, pondering what the text read and also thinking about something else. "Strange, he claims that his master banished him from China, and when he was telling me about his master, he seemed to stutter, as if he was going to say something, but held it back..."

But just then, Jian remembered a very important detail from the past, "Wait! That's it! I can't believe I didn't notice it at the time… That Panda had the aroma of another Tiger when I fought him in Wu fortress!"

Jian then stood up from his chair and slammed his fist into the table, nearly cracking it in the process. "So that Tiger is related to the Dragon Warrior after all… His father is a Panda, and his Mother is a Tigress!"

But just as Jian said this, he heard a voice come from down the cave, "Lord Jian!"

"What is it!?" He asked in an agitated tone.

"My Lord, the Tiger is just in his quarters, but something about him seems off…" The guard explained.

"I see. Well, if you would be so kind, could you get the rest of my guards and follow me up to the Tiger's room? I seem to have discovered just where our striped friend got his skills from." Jian answered as he went over to a collection of his many displayed artifacts.

"As you wish, my Lord." The guard answered and then left to carry out her Master's orders.

"It is time for me to make an example out of those who would breach my trust and to show my reformed army what is done with those who are related to the Dragon Warrior…" He said deviously as he picked up a special sword which was held in a case on his display.

* * *

Genji's room was quiet, the only faint sounds that could be heard were the small breaths that he took every so often. At the moment he was in a meditative pose, and he seemed fairly calm on the outside, but inside his mind was a different story.

 _~"You are nearly finished in assembling an army, now all you need to do is to overthrow their leader"_

Genji internally nodded, but replied to the voice, "I will, but I still feel I must grow more powerful if I am to defeat him and claim his title for myself."

 _~"You must learn to hone your control over your Dark Chi Genji Ping, I will teach you how to do this."~_

"What do you mean? What is Dark Chi?" He asked, eagerly willing to know what this new technique was.

 _~"Why, you already used this technique before Genji, do you not remember?"~_

Genji internally shook his head signifying he did not recall this event.

 _~"You used it when you last fought your sister."~_

This prompted Genji to flash back to the event a year ago, the day he had brutally beaten and defeated his sister in combat. He remembered that it had almost been comically easy to defeat her, and he hadn't even used the full extent of his power. His vision had been changed a deep red color and he felt an enormous amount of raw emotion and rage.

"How do I learn how to control this?" Genji asked the voice, seeking more power.

 _~"It's simple, you must focus on destroying that which you hate in this world, once you do that, you will discover the true power of Dark Chi"~_

"That's it? I just focus on the things that I hate?" Genji asked anxious to begin discovering this new power.

 _~"Yes, but it is not merely about focusing on these things Genji Ping, but of using them as a motivator. Hate, anger, and fear are all essential in bringing out one's Dark Chi and are the gateway to unlocking one's true potential."~_

But just then, Genji's meditation and internal conversation were interrupted when he sensed a disturbance at his door. He opened his eyes and stood up, only to then watch as his door was busted open tearing the wooden door off of its hinges. And then all of a sudden, multiple cloaked figures rushed into his room and surrounded him. Genji counted around 15 of them, all of whom were armed with daggers and knives, and each of them were part of Jian's personal guard. Genji then heard a chuckling coming from his doorway, and he already knew who it was.

Sure enough right on cue, the Male Lion Jian entered his room slowly while chuckling and now clapping for reasons Genji could only guess. He wore much more elegant attire than usual, a black qipao vest with silver trim not unlike Genji's own, and also a thick royal red cape.

Genji then got into a fighting stance, preparing to take on all of them on his own. As he growled and snarled, he noticed that the guards were not as intimidated as most people would be at his feral behavior.

 _~"Patience my friend, I suggest you save your energy for when you need it, you are outnumbered and outmatched. You will need to learn the true power of Dark Chi to be able to take on this many."~_

Listening to the voice in his head, he agreed and restrained himself, folding his arms and waiting for the Lion to explain this madness.

"Foolish young Tiger… For how long did you think you could deceive me…" The Lion said, walking almost right up to face the Tiger.

When Genji refused to answer this Jian got agitated and said, "Well unfortunately for you, I know who you are, **Dragon child**."

Genji again didn't reply to this, and instead gave a discontent scowl. But this also angered the Lion who wasn't getting the reaction he wanted out of the Tiger. "Alright then, if you intend on ignoring me then I guess I can show MY new army how we treat anyone related to that devil Dragon Warrior!"

After he said this, one of Jian's personal guards brought a heavy set of 8 point acupuncture cuffs and locked them to Genji's wrists. And then, just after this, Jian used a foot to push Genji to the ground, and then he unsheathed a hidden sword from behind his back and held the tip of the blade up to the Tiger's nose, just an inch away from his face.

"At first, I contemplated whether to kill you myself and use your fur as a wall decoration or to keep your head as a trophy, but now I think I will subject you to a different type of death. Tomorrow I will allow my warriors to witness your public execution in our glorified arena." The Lion explained as he still held the blade up to the Tiger's nose.

Jian then took the blade away from Genji's face and sheathed it in its scabbard. "Oh don't worry, I'll still honor our deal, the Mongolians will take over China, and we will kill your Master. Or should I say, your father?"

Jian then signaled for two of his guards to pick up the Tiger and bring him along where they would lock him up for him to stay until his execution the next day.

* * *

 **1 Hour Later, In a Dark Jail Cell**

Genji had been in this cell for nearly an hour now, and he was beginning to like it less and less by the minute. With his patience running as thin as it was, something was bound to happen sooner or later. He walked up to the bars and looked like he was going to punch a dent in them before the voice in his head spoke,

 _~"Do not worry my friend, you will shortly be out of this cell. Once you manage to control your Dark Chi, you will be unstoppable."~_

Genji then brought his hadn back and sat down on the cold stone floor. "Okay Akuma, I am ready to learn." He said as he closed his eyes and internally spoke to the voice.

~"Good, now I want you to imagine the one thing that you hate the most in this world. Whether that be a person, or something else..."~

The first thought that came to Genji's mind was exactly what Akuma expected, the thing Genji hated the most was a person, and not just any person, but his twin sister Mariko. She was the largest image in his mind, and soon, smaller images formed in the Tiger's mind, one being his father, the next being his technical brother Hao, and lastly, the jade palace itself.

~"Good, now, I want you to imagine destroying each and every one of those things until it satisfies you, think of all the suffering they have caused you and imagine paying all of this back to them and then some!"~

At this, Genji began to do just that, thinking about all the possible scenarios where he would accomplish his goal of riding himself of what troubled him and wrong him in the past. And unbeknownst to him, a wicked and menacing aura slowly began to emanate from him as he did this.

Seconds later footsteps could be heard approaching the Tiger's cell coming from down the hallway of this would be prison. It was the guard, a strong bull who was doing a patrol to make sure everything was in order, but when they reached Genji's cell, the Bull was surprised to see the Tiger directly facing him with his eyes closed. What made it even more unnerving was the fact that even after a couple of seconds staring at the Tiger, his eyelids refused to open, almost as if he was meditating while standing.

The Bull inched up closer to the bars and examined the Tiger for any potential problem, he then asked, "What are you doing-"

But before the bull could finish, he watched as the Tiger suddenly opened his eyelids which exposed a hideous and wicked blood red aura emanating from his eyes. As well as a sickening grin forming on the Tiger's face. This shocked the Bull, and the guard stumbled back into the wall behind him in sudden fear.

But then, the Bull began to get overconfident, "Hah! Nice try Tiger! If you we're locked behind the strongest steel bars in this whole place then that might actually scare me!"

However, the Bull did not expect what would happen next, as if it were the perfect type of karma, the Tiger began to bend the iron bindings on the 8 point acupuncture cuffs with his own arms. And before the Bull knew it, the cuffs gave away to the monstrous strength of the Tiger, and fell to the ground in pieces.

The Bull's jaw lay agape as he couldn't comprehend what the Tiger had just done. "You-What the hell are you!?" The Bull fearfully questioned as he again backed up from the bars and away from the demon-like Tiger.

Genji didn't reply, and instead walked right up the bars and placed his paws on them and began to push them away from each other with such force that they actually began to bend, almost forming a doorway out of the cell. The Bull began to run, seeing what was unfolding before his eyes. As he was running through the hallway, he heard a loud and menacing roar come from down the hall which he could only assume was the Tiger.

He was drawing near the exit to this prison, and he looked back to see if the Tiger had escaped or if it was following him. But when he turned his head back, his eyes immediately met those of the Tiger, it was standing directly behind him, having somehow caught up to him without him noticing. He was just about to shout in fear before the Tiger grabbed his throat preventing him from speaking and making him gasp for air.

Genji made a gesture with his free hand that looked as if he was going, "Shhh." With a sadistic grin as he did so. The Bull struggled desperately to get out of the Tiger's hold, but to no avail. Akuma had now been released on the world, a true demon.

 **A/N: Halfway through! And golly was this chapter fun for me to write. What will Genji, or rather Akuma do next? Tune in for the next chapter to find out! As always, if you're enjoying this story so far, favorite and follow! Also,**

 **Review!**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Familiar Places

The setting was disturbing and ominous. Screams and shouts of agony and pain could be heard everywhere. Violent flames erupted from the sides of buildings and engulfed entire houses in a raging inferno. Above the horrific atmosphere, a voice spoke,

 _~"Did you seriously think you could go back to your life and live peacefully!? Did you seriously think you could just forget about me and think you were fully absolved of all your sins!? Well, your insolence shall be your downfall… Sister…"~_

A figure then came into view, a tall and menacing figure. Their body was shrouded in darkness even though the nearby flames lit the surrounding area in orange flickering light. The only distinguishable color amongst this figure were the two glowing red eyes which radiated with an unnerving supernatural aura.

Another voice was then heard, it like all the others sounded of pure agony and pain.

"Mariko..."

The voice called with a tone that sounded weak and beaten.

"Mariko..."

The voice called again, but louder this time, and with a bit more emphasis.

"MARIKO!"

* * *

"GASP!" The female Tiger tried to catch her breath after having experienced a horrific and realistic nightmare. As she looked around, she noticed that she was still confines of her bedroom and was in no inherent danger. She eventually managed to pace her breath and settle down from the traumatic experience. It was then that she noticed that her father was by her side with a worried expression. Her Mother was also there on the other side of her bed, with the same worried expression.

"Was it a nightmare?" Po asked her, putting a paw on her shoulder.

She nodded, "Yes, and it was the worst one I have ever had..." She answered, still sounding frightened from the dream.

Her parents each frowned, they had rushed into their daughter's room when they had first heard her tossing and turning in her sleep.

Tigress asked, "Do you care to share what it was about?"

To which Mariko replied, "I was in a terrible setting, I could hear screams and shouts from people that sounded in pain. There were buildings were on fire and the skies were cloudy and gloomy. And right near the end of the dream, a shadowed figure approached me."

Po and Tigress each looked at one another with worried expressions and Po asked, "Do you know who the figure was?"

Mariko nodded, but seemed hesitant to reply, however sighed and answered sadly, "They were tall, looked like the shape of another feline and had a devilish red aura emitting from their eyes."

She paused for a second before continuing, "It was Genji…"

Mariko hated to admit it, but it was almost certainly an image of her fallen twin brother Genji in her nightmare. For the last year she had reminisced him and though he was responsible for attacking and nearly killing her, she knew he wasn't entirely to blame, had his mind not been corrupted then perhaps things would have gone differently. But it was too late to undo the mistake, for he had been gone for nearly a year now and nobody knew his whereabouts.

Po looked at his daughter, "Mariko, I think it's time you and I pay another visit to Emperor Xiong in Beijing."

Suddenly, Mariko's eyes lit up, "Really!? We're going to the capital!?" She asked, while jumping straight out of bed in excitement.

This brought a smile to Po's face for he knew that ever since he had taken Mariko to Beijing when she was young she always wanted another excuse to return, and now was that time.

"Yes sweetheart, now go pack your things so that we may leave." Po answered with a smile as he watched the facial expression somehow get even happier than it already was.

And with that, Mariko began to pack all of the belongings she would take on their trip to the capital. Not paying any attention to her two parents who watched the scene with smiles.

"It certainly has been some time since you both went to Beijing, she'll enjoy visit." Tigress said to her husband as she watched their daughter packing all sorts of things.

Po looked back, "Will you be coming too? 'Master Tigress'?" He asked, emphasizing the Tiger's previous title.

Tigress pinched the Panda's nose at his silly nature and answered, "I would love to Po, but I think I should stay here to make sure that the Valley is safe. And plus, it'll give me a good excuse to get Hao to train."

"Suit yourself then, I hope you manage to get that lazy chef to even spend a minute training." Po joked as he too headed off to their room to begin packing for the trip. But before he could leave, he felt someone grab his paw from behind and then turn him around and lick the side of his face.

"Just can't let me go before showing me your affection can you?" He asked while rubbing the spot where she had licked him.

"Of course I can't, otherwise I wouldn't get to properly say goodbye to my favorite Panda in this world." She answered as she began to lick him again but wouldn't stop this time.

Po laughed and said, "Hey! Cut it out Tigress! You know how that messes up my fur!"

She stopped at his request and replied, "And? You know I'll always love you no matter what you look like you silly Panda!"

Po smiled and then kissed his wife on the lips, a gesture which she returned. Once they broke apart, Po smiled and said, "We'll be back soon Kitten. See you later." And with this he left to go pack for himself. Leaving Tigress behind who thought to herself, 'You'd better be back soon.' And just like him, she too headed off, but instead of packing, she headed off towards the noodle shop to go find her adopted son Hao.

* * *

Inside the noodle shop, business was as usual, with customers coming and going like a colony of ants. From returning customers to new traders and travelers coming by to try the most flavorful noodle soup recipe in the country, this restaurant was packed as always. Today was such a busy day in fact that the one and only employee was actually having a tough time catering to so many customers. Hao slaved around this kitchen day in and day out to satisfy the needs of his loyal customers, and he never seemed to mind the taxing work. It was after all his dream to become the best cook in all the country.

Right now Hao was busy stirring the broth inside the cauldron with a familiar looking soup ladle, one which had characters inscribed in it saying 'Big Brother'. The same ladle which his younger sister Mariko had carved for him when he was younger. As he stirred the broth, he strangely began to hear awes and gasps coming from the inside the shop. He looked up to see what the commotion was about, and as soon as he looked at the shop entrance he saw his mother walking into the restaurant.

Almost all of the customers and villagers in the shop recognize this popular figure with villagers saying all sorts of things from, "It's Master Tigress!" to "The leader of the Furious Five!" Everyone in the shop seemed emphatic about this protector of the valley entering the shop like a common customer.

As she walked in, the children of the villagers horded around her and most prevented her from going any further. When she was younger this would have annoyed the most hardcore master in the country, but after many years of softening up, she had grown to love interacting with the children of the valley. Of course it had helped to have interacted with the Panda children at the village in the mountains, and it also really helped to be a mother of three herself.

As she walked past the citizens, she waved at many of them and even greeted many as she passed by. She walked up to the front counter of the shop where she found a very busy Male White Tiger slaving away in the kitchen.

"Quite the busy day you've had today, isn't it Hao?" She asked from outside the shop.

Hao rolled his eyes, "Tell me about it, so are you here to order something Mom?" He asked as he kept up his work.

Tigress shook her head, "No, I came here for another reason. But seeing as how you're quite busy, it will be difficult to get you away from your work."

Hao nodded, "You're right. I haven't had this busy of a day in a long time… It's like the new year has come already..."

Tigress smiled and replied, "Then allow me to give you a hand, you could use the help, couldn't you?"

Hao looked up from his work and his jaw lay open in shock, "Uhhh is this real right now!? My Mom is volunteering to help me in the kitchen!?"

To which Tigress nodded.

"By all means! Please! I could really use the help!" He answered quickly.

* * *

 **Later that Day, In the Capital City Beijing**

Mariko and Po both arrived in Beijing at sunset, the normally busy streets of the highly populated city were much more crowded and with more commotion. But it seemed that many citizens had retreated to their homes for night was coming shortly. Mariko looked around and was happy to see that the city hadn't changed very much since she last visited 14 years ago. Although one thing that was much more prevalent in the city was the presence of the military. With armed imperial soldiers at just about every entrance to the city. And as they got closer to the Emperor's tower, they began to see even more guards which was to be expected from a place of such high importance.

Mariko was quite anxious at the moment, for there was one real reason above all else that she wanted to return here. It was reacquainting with her former friend and the Emperor's own son Haokan with whom she met on her last voyage to the capital with her father. In fact, one of the things that helped her to remember Haokan was the Opal earring which had purchased for her during their adventure out of the tower. It was actually one of a pair of earrings, but she had given the other back to the Leopard in hopes that he would also remember her.

'I wonder if he remembers me at all...It's been over a decade since we last saw one another.' She thought worriedly as her and her father kept on their way towards the colossal tower.

Unbeknownst to her, Po noticed her sudden shift in mood and he asked, "Mariko, is something bothering you?"

Mariko shook her head out of her daze, "Sorry Daddy, I'm just anxious is all. It's been quite a while since I've been here." She replied, looking down at the path towards the tower.

Her father raised a brow and asked, "Is this all that's been on your mind?"

"Y-yes. Yes, that's it Daddy." She lied, trying not to reveal the real reason that stressed her mind.

'Hmm, I can tell that she is uneasy about something else, though what that is I will have to figure out.' Po thought as he examined Mariko's expression.

* * *

 **Back at the Valley of Peace at Sundown**

"Thanks for the help today Mom, I fear that I would have had to turn some customers away had you not shown up today." Hao thanked his Mother while scratching the top of his head.

Tigress smirked while replying, "You're welcome Hao, after all, you did say you want to have the shop performing at it's best when that big shot chef comes to the valley to test the shop next month. What did you say that Ram's name was again?"

Hao responded, "His name is Goaton Ramsay and he's possibly one of the best chefs in the world. He goes through all sorts of places around the world and tests the food while reviewing the restaurants. Although I've heard from a lot of people that if he finds anything wrong with the food or the restaurant he gets really angry and tells off the owner in a very rude manner… I really hope he likes Grandpa Ping's noodle soup recipe..."

A drop of sweat escaped the White Tiger's brow as he remembered the advice he had been given by a bunch of other star chefs in the country.

Tigress smiled at her son's nervous attitude, "Don't worry Hao, you will be just fine, and if this 'Goaton Ramsey' doesn't like your food, it doesn't matter since the whole valley will always love this shop." She said as she placed a paw on her son's shoulder.

Hao began to calm down, "Thanks again mom, you always know how to make my day better. Well, you and Mariko that is. Speaking of which, how is my younger sister doing these days?" He asked while washing the dishes and cooking utensils from the days work.

"Your sister and father are both going on a trip to Beijing right now, they've probably arrived there by now." Tigress answered as she examined the wooden ladle soup ladle which was carved by Mariko and was being displayed on the wall of the shop after Hao had finished washing it.

Hao nodded, "Mariko always did want to go back to that busy place, I'm sure she will love to see it again. But why right now of all times?" He asked, changing the topic.

Tigress answered this as simply as possible, "Hao, Mariko hasn't been sleeping well lately. Your father and I have heard her mumbling to herself at night, so this morning we went to check on her only to have her wake up in a panic after a horrible nightmare. A nightmare about Genji."

Hao was skeptical to respond, for the topic of his fallen younger brother was never an easy one to talk about for him. "I see… Does this have anything to do with why you came down to see me?" He asked with a bit of hesitation.

"I'm glad you asked that Hao, because it is absolutely the reason I came down to talk to you. Of course while I enjoy helping you to accomplish your ultimate dream, I need you to keep up your training if we are to defend from what Mariko has foreseen." Tigress answered as she folded her arms and waited for Hao to finish washing the dishes.

Hao frowned at hearing this, "Mom, you know Martial arts isn't my talent… It never was… And besides, there's no evidence that what Mariko has seen will come to fruition…" He ranted as he turned his back to his Mother.

Tigress wasn't happy with this response though and she called to Hao assertively, "Hao! Look at me!"

To which Hao hesitantly turned to face his irritated Mother. She then explained, "Hao, remember when Po had been taken from the Valley when you were just a Cub? When you dreamt that he would return?"

"But Mom! That was differ-"

"It is no different! She described the event just like you did Hao, mass destruction, fires engulfing structures, people's screams and shouts of agony! You claim that martial arts is not your talent, but I beg to differ, what happened to the son I once knew who was eager to master the art of Kung Fu and become the greatest chef in the country!?" Tigress interrupted Hao with a rant of her own.

Hao looked back at her, though hesitant to reply, he answered, "I… Okay Mom, I'll try."

His mother walked up to him and hugged him from behind, "Hao, I know you think this is daunting, but I believe in you. And I will be there with you every step of the way."

He smiled weakly and responded, "Thanks Mom, I just hope that we don't have to fight in the first place."

* * *

 **Inside the Emperor's Tower in Beijing**

Mariko and Po waited outside of a meeting hall on the 10th floor of the Emperor's Tower. They had been told by the Tower guards to wait at this door to be greeted by Emperor Xiong shortly. And though Po waited patiently, Mariko was anxious and restless. Without even knowing it she tapped her foot against the ground in a form of habit which Po noticed.

"Mariko, I'll ask you this again, what is bothering you." Po asked while folding his arms and looking her in the eyes.

"Nothing Daddy, I'm just worried is all." She quickly replied.

He wasn't convinced though, "Mariko, you've been avoiding telling me the truth of your mood since we got here. I'll ask you one last time, sweetheart what's bothering you right now. You can tell me anything Mariko." He asked genuinely.

Mariko seemed hesitant to reply, however she soon gave in, "Daddy, do you remember the Emperor's son Haokan? Well I was mostly interested in coming on this trip to see him again. It's been so long though and I'm beginning to wonder if he'll even remember me anymore…"

A smile developed on Po's face with his daughter's confession, "I understand now, so this is what has been bothering you all this time?"

She nodded, prompting Po to smile and think to himself, 'Mariko cares quite a bit for the Emperor's Son, she has the portrait of them together and she wears that earring he gave her everyday…'

But interrupting his thoughts were the several doors that opened from the meeting room in front of them. And out of the door came a group of people who seemed to be of higher class in Chinese society. Each of them looked quite old and they all shared very grumpy and annoyed expressions. As they filtered out, Mariko and Po could hear the old men grumbling and mumbling unhappily. Clearly whatever happened in that meeting had not gone very well.

A moment later, one last person came out of the room, a middle aged Armur Leopard with a very expensive looking outfit on.

"Gods these Chinese nobles annoy me beyond comprehension…" The Leopard mumbled to himself with a less than satisfied expression.

But before the Emperor could say anything more, he looked up and noticed several figures, "It can't be… Dragon Warrior?" He asked in a much more content mood at seeing one of his past friends inside his palace.

Po nodded and replied, "It is great to see you again, Emperor Xiong." He then knelt and bowed in respect to the leader of their country, as did Mariko.

"Oh nonsense my friend! Stand! It has been forever since I saw you!" He said with great enthusiasm as he walked up closer to Po.

It was then that the Emperor noticed the familiar figure standing beside the Dragon Warrior, a young adult Tigress with green eyes and black fur patches surrounding them, along with a blue Qipao vest, and black slacks.

"And you must be Mariko? Gosh how kids grow up so quickly. I remember it felt like only yesterday you and Haokan were just Cubs who would constantly get into trouble…" The Emperor recounted as he looked at the now fully ground female Tiger whom he had met many years ago.

"It is an honor to be in your presence again, Emperor Xiong." Mariko bowed with a cupped fist in respect for the Leopard.

"So why have you both come here again? I suppose this isn't just for a long awaited reunion, hmm?" Emperor Cishan asked as he folded his arms.

Po spoke on behalf of both, "You're right my Lord, as much as I enjoy meeting with acquaintances, we came here for another purpose."

The Leopard nodded, "Follow me to my quarters. We will have much more privacy to discuss this there."

And with that, the three headed off to the top of the structure to discuss the matter at hand in a more secluded and confined location. But unbeknownst to each of them, they were being watched the entire time by a pair of prying eyes.

 **A/N: There's chapter 11 yall! Chapter 12 will be coming shortly once I finish up with school in about a week. This chapter was a nice step down from the violence, but be warned, for the next chapter is going to pick right up where we left off with Genji. If you're enjoying the story so far or want to stay updated on future chapter releases, favorite and follow!  
**

 **Also, I put a lot of effort into writing this story guys, and so I would really appreciate it if all the readers could please review and give me criticism and your thoughts about the story. Anyhow, see you all soon!**

 **-Ace_Risk**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks to all who read and reviewed the last chapter! I tried to make it a nice little break from the violence, however, in this chapter we're diving right back into it! And a word of advice, this chapter is going to be extremely violent compared to all the rest.**

Chapter 12

Survival of the Fittest

 **Meanwhile, in a large throne room in Mongolia**

"Lord Jian, how do you plan to frame the Tiger for treachery when almost the whole army supports him?" Asked an Asiatic Lioness standing before the throne of her master.

"It's actually quite simple, when we convince the warriors that Akuma is of Chinese decent they will rally with me against him. With the Mongolian army fully allied on my side again, I will allow them to slay the Tiger in the arena but keep his hide intact so that I may have the fur of my mortal enemy's son." Explained a tall Asiatic male Lion as he sat down on his throne while maintaining a devious grin.

"Understood my lord." Answered each of the Lion's personal guards as they all bowed in respect.

"Even now I can imagine how he fears death within that cell. He probably begs to the gods to spare his fate… That fool really thought he could deceive me. Well he will pay for his insolence with his life!" Mused the Lion.

But what Jian did not know, is that this was quite far from the truth. And moments later, a loud banging sound echoed throughout Jian's large throne room. It came from just outside the front doors of the room, and everyone turned to look at what the strange clamor was about.

"What the hell?" Asked Jian, having heard the noise and now rising up from his throne.

Things were silent for a brief moment until another identical sound was heard, but louder this time. And all upon a sudden, the doors to Jian's throne room burst open and in ran one of his Water Buffalo guards who panicked, "My Lord! We're all in trouble-"

But before the large Buffalo could finish, he dropped to the ground dead as a small dagger impaled his back. And as the guard fell, Jian could now see what had caused the Buffalo's death, it was the young Tiger who he had thought was still in the confines of the prison cell. All of the Lioness' gasped as they looked upon the entrance where stood Genji holding the prison guard by the neck with one paw as he walked inside the large throne room.

"Impossible…" Jian nervously muttered as he watched the scene unfold with his jaw agape.

The prison guard was desperately trying to pry off the Tiger's paw from chocking his throat and he struggled to remove the unstoppable Tiger's paw. But it was no use, and only a moment later, the Bull suffocated to death and went motionless in the Tiger's grasp, his limbs all dropping and not even resisting Genji anymore. With this, Genji looked over towards the exasperated faces of the Lioness' and the single Lion in the room. He then threw the now dead carcass of the Bull towards Jian's throne. After landing, the Bull skidded directly in front of the Lion's throne and stopped. Jian looked down for a second at the body, and then immediately back up to the Tiger who was now walking up closer to the throne.

"I challenge you! One Warrior to another! And only the strongest will rule Mongolia!" Shouted Genji from the other side of the hall as he pointed directly at the Lion who stood up from the throne.

'This cannot be happening right now… HOW DID HE ESCAPE THAT CELL!?' The Lion nervously thought as he looked directly ahead where the Tiger whom he had capture not an hour ago was challenging him to a duel to the death.

He then looked at each of his near a dozen guards, who all stared him down waiting for his response. His heart was beating faster than it had in a while, seeing the Tiger reminded of the Dragon Warrior who had beaten him many years ago even with him having the boosted power of 3 Kung Fu artifacts. And this Tiger was the Dragon Warrior's son…

'I can't refuse this fight… If I don't agree to fight him, he will spread word to the army… not to mention I'd look like a coward in front of my guards…' Jian thought with a nervous expression.

A moment later, he answered, "Very well Tiger, have it your way!" And with this, the Lion descended the small steps leading towards where the Genji waited for him. He unfastened his royal red cape and handed it to one of his guards and then went to go face his opponent.

A menacing grin formed on Genji's face as he got the exact response he had wanted. He now also began to walk forward to meet the Lion in combat.

As Genji walked closer, he began to pick up the pace until he was almost running, to which Jian did the same, only not quite as quick. Within a moment, they reached one another, standing mere feet away from each other and staring the other down intently.

"Now I shall finish you once and for all, Dragon Child." Jian stated as he prepared himself for the upcoming fight.

"You had your chance." replied Genji as the Tiger got into his traditional stance.

Neither fighter moved to attack for a good minute, they simply scanned each other as they walked in a circle. All of Jian's personal guards watched as the two large felines were getting ready to fight one another.

Normally, Jian would be the first to make a move as he preferred to end his battles quickly. However, if his fight with Tai Lung nearly 2 decades ago was any indication, it was that making the first move wasn't always an advantage.

He didn't have to wait long though, after nearly half a minute of circling one another, Genji lunged to land a hit on Jian's head. The Lion narrowly avoided the attack, but was not given any time before Genji threw another hard punch towards his chest which hit him, forcing him back and allowing Genji to deliver a powerful side kick to the Lion's shoulder.

Jian was knocked to the ground by this crushing blow, but immediately shrugged off the pain and got up. He attempted to land a couple of strikes of his own, though this granted him little success, with the only blow that connected with his target being repelled with a counter attack of Genji's own.

The Tiger was clearly not going to be beaten so easily. And with the sudden shift in momentum, he went back on the offensive and managed to land several more hits on the Lion.

As he knocked Jian back Jian he confidently smirked and taunted the Lion, "Is that the best you can do? Lord Jian?"

Jian wiped his mouth from which he was bleeding from his lip and said to himself discreetly, "Cocky bastard…"

And with this, he got up from the ground and attempted to hit the Tiger again, but with no success, for Genji was a far better fighter than he. And after avoiding a couple more strikes by the Lion, Genji decided that he would end this fight quickly. He waited until Jian was open and launched a counter punch directly at the Lion's jaw which caused him to fall to the ground in pain.

Jian was in a really bad spot now, he had yet to land a single decisive hit on his opponent, and worse he was tiring with each time he was hit back. However, an idea then came up in his head and he rose from the floor while hiding a mischievous grin.

Genji folded his arms in arrogance as he looked down upon his defeated foe. The Tiger walked up to the kneeling Lion and remarked, "Do not worry Jian, when I am finished with you, I will honor our agreement and murder my father along with any who stand in my way from conquering China." Genji then prepared to end his opponent's life with a finishing blow to the back of the kneeling Lion's neck.

However, as he brought his paw down to finish the fight, Jian put his plan into action and in a split second, he rolled forward avoiding the strike and unsheathed his hidden sword swinging it up towards Genji's right eye. The Tiger was not expecting this sudden attack, and the swing from Jian's sword caught on Genji's right eye, cutting a gash across the right side of the Tiger's face and causing him to fall backwards.

As he recovered his footing, Genji placed his paw on his face where the sword had cut into his flesh. He could no longer see out of his right eye, and moreover, blood trickled down his paw and also down his face from the new wound.

Now that Jian had finally landed a hit on the Tiger, he prepared to finish the fight once and for all. He had to act quickly before the Tiger had an opportunity to retaliate, so he dashed for his opponent, his sword raised as he prepared to bring the blade down to slay his foe.

However, before his sword made contact, his arm was stopped as a paw took hold of his wrist. It was Genji. Without any explanation, the Tiger had managed to completely ignored the painful gash on his face and had intercepted Jian's sword strike before it could hit.

Jian's eyes widened as he watched the Tiger rise from the floor with a disturbing crimson aura now emitting from his left unscathed eye.

No matter how much strength he applied, he could not overpower the Tiger's hold on his wrist, so he took his free left hand and began to pummel the Tiger in the face. Several of his punches collided with Genji's face, though they seemed to do little damage to the unstoppable striped feline.

Jian then threw one last punch, but this time, Genji avoided the punch and hit the Lion in the jaw as his opponent was open while still holding Jian's wrist in place. He then twisted the Lion's wrist hard, making Jian yell out and dropping his sword to avoid the Tiger breaking his arm.

Having successfully disarmed Jian, Genji could now finish the Lion off for good this time. He maintained his hold on Jian's wrist and proceeded to land several bone crushing punches on the Lion's face, and knocking him to the floor. The Lion recovered, weakly standing up as his stamina was fading quickly. Genji did not allow the Lion any time for recovery, and ran up swiftly and landed an elbow strike to the side of Jian's head followed by a finishing blow to the Lion's chest.

Jian now lay on the floor in severe pain, and no longer able to rise to face his opponent. Genji didn't give Jian any mercy however, and proceeded to kick the Lion across the room towards the throne. On his way towards the throne, he noticed Jian's sword which still lay on the ground after it had been dropped by it's previous owner. He picked up the sword, and walked over to the limp body of his defeated enemy, picking the Lion up by the shoulder with his other paw and dragging him across the floor to the throne.

Jian knew that this was the end, he looked around at his guards who had watched the entire fight and who looked down at their defeated master. He got up on his front paws and his knees as the Tiger stood above him, sword in hand and preparing to execute him once and for all.

Then, the Lion spoke his final words, "Like you said. Only the strongest, shall rule." And with this, he accepted his fate and lowered his head.

Genji grinned evilly upon hearing those words, he brought the sword up in both hands and then…

" _ **SSHLUCK!"**_

The Lion's body collapsed to the floor. The throne room was now silent. It was done.

Genji brought Jian's sword up and wiped all of the blood off of its blade. He then examined it more closely, it was a beautifully fabricated Mongolian Saber. It had a strong and sharp curved steel blade along with a golden guard and pommel, and ironically to Genji, it seemed as if it suited him. Almost like this sword was meant to be wielded by him.

He then looked over to Jian's former personal guards who all knelt on one knee.

"What is your first order? Lord Akuma." The guard at the center asked while still kneeling.

A smile formed on the Tiger's face, 'That'll take some getting used to…' He thought with pride.

 _~"It feels good to be in a position of power… Doesn't it Genji Ping?"~_

Genji listened to the voice in his head, and he subconsciously asked, "What should I do now?"

To which the voice replied,

 _~"You have a powerful army, however, you will need more than soldiers to conquer China. You will also need greater weapons. Order your forces to Chorh Gom Prison, there you will find the weapons you need."~_

Genji then grinned and replied to the Lioness, "Ready our troops, we head for Chorh Gom Prison!"

And with that, the guards each nodded and headed out of the room, but not before Genji ordered one last thing,

"And could someone be so kind as to clean up this mess?" Clearly referring to the disembodied corpse of his fallen opponent.

Two of the Lioness' stayed back and carried out their new master's commands. As they did this, Genji sat down on the throne behind him. It was an expensive chair, made up of perfectly shaped white marble, and to Genji it seemed as if it befitted him.

But it was then that a drop of blood landed on Genji's lap, it had come from the still open gash on his face left from the fight. He growled a bit at the thought that Jian had caught him off guard. He had hardly even noticed the wound until now, his natural tolerance to pain and sudden rush of adrenaline saw to that, but having lost his rush of adrenaline, the pain was coming back to him. It was the most excruciating pain he had ever experienced, so unbearable that he rushed out of the room immediately.

He was searching for something to treat his wound with, for if he did not close the wound soon, it would get infected or worse. Upon rushing through the halls, Genji came across a fireplace with a lit fire, and inside the fire was a super heated metal poking rod. Genji picked up the poking rod from the handle and thought to himself, 'this is going to hurt like hell…'

What Genji did next would have disturbed anyone, taking the still hot metal rod, he used the tip of the super heated poker to cauterize the wound to his face. Roaring in pain as the hot metal seared the wounded flesh on his face, he managed to seal the wound completely in a matter of seconds. He dropped the metal rod and then rushed to a nearby bath room to wash out the wound.

Once he arrived, he knelt down to a large water basin and began to pour the cold water onto his wound, the water. The cold water was much of a relief after having just cauterized his own wound, it had the effect of cooling him down, but also washing off the blood from his fur. As Genji washed himself off, he took a moment to look at himself from his reflection in the rippling water, he saw the new scar that ran across his right eye. It it was very noticeable, not only the torn flesh, but also the fact that his right eye had been blinded. As he looked at his reflection, a burning hatred consumed Genji, hating how he had dropped his guard, hating how this had happened. His anger grew so great that he took out his frustration on the water, smashing his fists down upon it's surface and greatly disturbing it. This sent water splashing and flinging everywhere, and to top everything off, he then let out an anger filled roar.

Once the water settled back into the basin moments later, Genji again looked at himself in the reflection of the water. He again saw himself, however as the ripples quieted down, Genji noticed the image in the reflection of the water changed slightly. Genji saw his own face behind the face of what looked like… A Komodo Dragon? Blinked his left eye and rubbed it to see if he was hallucinating, but he wasn't.

"What is this!? Some sort of sorcery!? What is going on!" Genji ranted, not understanding how this was possible. The lizard had the normal look of a Komodo Dragon, only, it's right eye had a red gemstone as a fake eye.

 _~"Hello Genji Ping, I must say, I am impressed to see how close you are to accomplishing your goal."~_

A revelation then hit Genji like a blacksmith beveling a blade. "You're Akuma!?" He asked the voice while looking at the image of the reptilian.

 _~"Yes Genji Ping, I am Akuma. And I am pleased with how much your skills have progressed now that you have embraced your hate."~_

"Why are you doing this? Helping me I mean." Genji asked, still looking at the reflection.

 _~"Because we share a common goal. The destruction of the Dragon Warrior."~_

At this, Genji nodded and was about to reply back before he was interrupted by a female voice, "My Lord, the troops are ready to move out, we await your order." He looked behind him and saw one of the Lioness guards who now served him, she knelt on one leg in respect.

"Good, we shall leave as soon as possible, I will join momentarily." Genji replied looking back at the reflection. The guard nodded and left to regroup with the rest of the mongol army.

"I'm glad we share this common goal Akuma, it will make killing my father all the more satisfying." Genji replied to the reflection one last time before departing the basin.

 **A/N: Finally got chapter 12 done! For those who have watched Star Wars the Clone wars season 5, you will all know the reference in this chapter! Sorry it took so long, finding inspiration has been difficult for the past while. I plan to release the next chapter before the end of May, so stay tuned! Just a reminder to all readers, please review this story and let me know your thoughts and your opinions! Feedback helps to inspire me to write more and gives me more ideas. As always, favorite and follow if you're enjoying the fic so far!**

 **Thanks,**

 **-Ace_Risk**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Acquaintances

As Po told the Emperor the details of Mariko's dream, Cishan grew more and more weary. When his Soothsayer had foreseen an imminent attack from the tribes of the north, he had thought it folly, but now he was coming to realize that perhaps it was no accident that these events were lining up.

The Leopard sat down on his throne and placed his paw on his forehead as he was having a tough time taking everything in. "So what you're saying is that the threat of invasion is closer than it seems?" He asked Po who stood facing him.

Po nodded, "Yes Emperor Cishan, my Daughter's dreams are foreshadowing this threat, I must be certain."

"Curses! That crazy elder Goat was right after all…" Cishan said as he slammed his fist into the arm of his throne out of his anger at himself. Though not hard enough to damage the golden chair it was still hard enough to be heard by Po and Mariko.

"How long do you think we have before this invasion?" The Emperor asked as he stood up from his throne and looked out the window of his room and out on the expansive city which surrounded it.

"I fear it will be quite soon my Emperor. I give us at most two to three weeks before the Mongols reach the northern border." Po answered knowing that this would not please the Leopard's already unhappy mood.

"You can't be serious!? Two weeks!?" The Emperor asked in disbelief, or rather denial. Such an enigma was exactly what he didn't need at such a hectic time.

Po nodded and replied, "You must send as many troops to the northern border as you can Cishan, we cannot ignore this threat."

"You think I don't want to send the army out to guard the northern border? If this were so simple I would do that right now! I can't send the army out there because we have a crisis with the Manchu's and even the Tibets! If I were to withdraw the troops from the west and the northeast the country would sooner fall into chaos internally! _Not that we aren't already in chaos..._ " The Emperor ranted as he walked up to the balcony which overlooked the entire city.

All the while, Mariko had listened to the entire conversation felt uncomfortable with the negative atmosphere of the topic. Since she had already served her purpose in the conversation, she went on her way to the door.

"Mariko? Where are you going?" Her father asked, noticing her reaching for the door handle.

"I would like to go outside to train for a bit, I really could use some fresh air anyway. I think I'll head over to the Palace gardens." She answered as she continued on her way.

"Okay sweetheart, but please be careful-" Po stated before Mariko interrupted him, "Daddy, it's me we're talking about. I'll be fine." And with that, she left and descended the long stairway down.

Po sighed and returned his attention to Cishan who was pacing back and forth nervously, no doubt over the impossible situation that faced him and his country. "I understand that this situation is difficult Cishan, I wish it could be simpler, but you must spare what soldiers you can or else we will all die."

"Even with what few soldiers I can spare, it will not be enough to protect the country Dragon Warrior… We need more support-" Cishan ranted as he continued to pace around his balcony before Po interrupted him. "I can enlist the rest of the Masters from the Kung Fu Council and all of the other trained Kung Fu Masters to aid in this struggle, but we will still need the help of two others."

Cishan was much relieved to hear this, but was still curious, "Whom are these two others of which you speak?" He asked as he stopped his nervous pacing and faced the Dragon Warrior.

"Do you remember the time I asked that you pardon Tai Lung? Well, shortly after this, he went in search of his nephew Peng, who also happens to be a prodigy in the art of Kung Fu. Well I've heard recently that the two have acquainted and teach Kung Fu lessons around the country. I will attempt to get them to join the effort." Po answered.

"Well this is excellent news Dragon Warrior, it seems we will stand a chance against the Mongols after all!" Cishan replied with much more optimism than before.

"Let's hope so." Po answered quietly to himself.

* * *

Meanwhile at the bottom of the massive structure, Mariko was relieved to have left that negative atmosphere of the throne room. She was presently practicing an advanced Kung Fu technique of which her father had recently taught her, it helped that she was practicing the Royal Palace Gardens where the area brimmed with life. Not that there weren't plenty of people in this busy city anyway, but this form of life was much more peaceful for say. There were flowers of just about every kind in this beautiful area, and each one had a distinctive fragrance and aroma to it. It was the ideal spot to practice control of her Chi.

She calmed her mind, eliminating all distractions such as the loud merchants and citizens on the other side of the thick stone walls surrounding the garden. The noises made by the wind rustling through and disturbing the wooden shutters on the sides of the Palace as it blew leaves and small debris throughout the city.

Once her mind cleared, she focused all her energy and directed her attention to a wilting flower amongst all the vibrant ones. Using all the energy she could muster, she infused it into the wilting flower which had the effect of making the plant rise from it's unfortunate state. Mariko opened her eyes and smiled as she saw the effect the technique had had on the flower, it stood upright now, brimming with life like all the others. But her happy spirits were quickly diminished as she saw the flower shortly succumb to the same wilting form it had earlier.

She frowned and sighed in disappointment. Yes, she had not yet mastered the technique, nor had she really even practiced it much, but her father had told her it was one of the most difficult techniques there was, and that it would take a great deal of practice. What didn't help her though, was knowing that her father and all of the other Pandas had seemingly managed to learn it in a single day without any practice. She sat down and took a moment to rest. This technique was quite physically taxing, especially considering she had not yet mastered it yet.

After taking a moment to recover, she stood back up and prepared to perform the technique again. This time she was determined to succeed, so she began to gather her energy once more in an attempt to infuse some of her life force into the dying flower. But just as she put her paw forward, she noticed another person taking a walk in the garden nearby in her peripheral vision. She turned her head and noticed that it was a male Amur Leopard who looked of similar age. He did not necessarily look the strongest, but his elegant uniform he wore gave the impression that he was of fairly high class. She wondered if this was the same Leopard whom she had longed to see for the past nearly 2 decades.

Upon getting a closer look, she noticed something that explained everything, it was the other Opal earring which matched the one she wore. "Haokan!?" She asked in surprise.

The Leopard responded by turning and looking her directly in the eyes. His expression was similar to Mariko's, in that he was surprised. His jaw now agape as he looked over at the female Tiger who was uncannily the same one he had met nearly 20 years ago at this same Palace.

After what felt like the longest minute of silence in history, the Leopard remarked, "So it was you who I saw earlier with that Panda!"

Mariko, instead of replying back, smiled out of pure glee as she walked up to Haokan and hugged him. He felt awkward by this gesture and didn't know what to do or say in response, he only heard her say, "I missed you so much!"

After a moment, she let him go and noticed his expression which looked of surprise but in a nervous way. She could tell he was uncomfortable in this situation and so she backed off a bit and an awkward silence took over for a moment as neither of the two maintained eye contact.

Mariko broke the silence, asking, "So how are you doing these days? It's been so long since we've spoken."

Haokan composed himself enough to reply, "Well, I mean, I'm doing okay, but I'm just so surprised to see you! It's been, what, 18 years? Give or take?"

She nodded, "Yes, and look at how much you've grown over all this time, you're taller than me now!" Of course Haokan was taller, but not as much as her tone would make one believe, in fact he was only really a full inch taller if even that.

He scratched the back of his head and replied, "Well, I'm only a little bit taller than you. And plus you've changed a lot too! You look so much stronger than me. I assume it's because of all the training you've been doing as a Kung Fu Master?"

She smiled and answered, "You could say that, but it also helps to have some pretty good genes as well."

They both laughed at this but soon the atmosphere became awkward again. That was until Haokan asked, "So, about you being a Kung Fu Master, do you actually end up fight off bandits and other criminals?"

"That's kind of my job being a student at the Jade Palace, the Valley occasionally gets invaded by groups of Bandits so it's up to myself and my parents to ward them off or capture them." She answered with a small but evident amount of pride.

"But isn't that...Well...Dangerous?" He asked skeptically.

She answered assuredly, "Sure it is, but I've trained my whole life and can fight my way out of almost anything! In fact before I spotted you I was in the middle of practicing one of the newest techniques my Dad taught me. Wanna see it?"

Haokan nodded, and so Mariko led the Leopard back over to where the wilting flower still sat drooping over as it's life slowly faded away. She heard him ask, "So what exactly is this technique?"

Mariko did not answer and instead began to concentrate on building up and gathering her life force energy again. She again directed her paw and prepared to exert all the energy and infuse it into the dying flower. As she did this, Haokan noticed a faint golden glow coming from the center of Mariko's left paw.

"Uhhh Mariko? Your paw is glowing! Hey? Mariko?" Haokan asked as he waved his paw in front of her shut eyes.

But as she ignored him, Haokan began to notice a change in the flower. It seemed like it was recovering from its grim state. He marveled as he watched the spectacle with his jaw open in disbelief. "Incredible…" He muttered to himself.

Mariko finished the technique with the flower now fully upright and in much better condition, the lush green stems and leaves brimming with life. Though the technique had again taken a tole on her body, and she began to collapse before Haokan managed to catch her and break her fall.

He was never praised for his strength, and he didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was having a difficult time keeping the young Tigress' body from hitting the floor. "Goodness you're heavy!" He said through breaths as he set her down on the ground gently.

She opened her eyes wearily and attempted to rise but was unable to out of muscle fatigue. Haokan placed a paw on her back and helped her up into a sitting position. "What even is that technique? It's the coolest thing I've ever seen!" He stated with enthusiasm.

As she recovered her breath, Mariko answered, "It is called Chi… And as you can see, I still haven't mastered it yet…" By this she was referring to the fact that she was completely exhausted from the exertion.

And worse yet, her efforts had again only temporarily worked, as the flower once again succumbed to it's deteriorating state. She sighed and looked down in disappointment with her failure but was reassured by Haokan, "Hey, even though you didn't succeed I thought it was a great technique! Keep practicing and I'm sure you'll master it with time!"

"You think so?" She asked as she stood up after having recovered enough of her strength back. To which he nodded in confirmation with a knowing smile on his face.

It then dawned on her that the day was getting old, and her father would probably come looking for her soon. Po hadn't planned on staying in Beijing for long, only to get the message to the emperor. So she figured she would have to make the most of the last few moments she would have with her friend before they would be separated again.

"Hey, I know we just meet each other again after so long Haokan, but my father will probably come looking for me any minute now." She told him with a slight frown.

To which he replied in shock, "Wait, are you serious? But you only just got here!"

"Yeah, my dad only brought us here to send the message to your father about an impending attack on China." She answered while still feeling down.

"An attack!? Is this real? When is it? And from where?" Haokan asked as he barraged her with questions to satisfy his confused mind.

"My dad thinks so, and he claims it will be from the Mongolians up north. To be honest I was fed up with that whole conversation so I left and came down here to train, but then I saw you…" She trailed off and stared into his eyes.

Haokan, being clueless to her thoughts looked behind him and asked, "What are you looking at?"

Which quickly snapped her out of her trance and back to reality, she stammered, "Uh, nothing!"

He looked unconvinced with this, so she changed the subject, "Hey, why don't we go for a walk together around the rest of the gardens? Just you and me?"

He seemed skeptical, "Are you sure? A minute ago you could barely stand-" He tried to reason before she cut him off, "I'm fine Haokan, the technique only tires me temporarily. Plus, I'm not that weak of a girl am I?"

At this he couldn't really come up with a refute to argue with this. So he nodded, extended a paw and asked, "Shall we? My lady?" To which she smiled and took his paw and the two proceeded to take a stroll around the gardens.

* * *

All the while at the Jade Palace training grounds…

"Your technique is sloppy and undisciplined! Do you not remember any of my teachings?" A stern and cold voice asked almost as a command or order.

"Mom, I told you, martial arts isn't my thing-" Pleaded a defeated White Tiger from the floor of the training grounds before being interrupted mid-sentence.

"Enough with the excuses Hao! We've been at this all afternoon and you've still yet to land a hit on me. How do you plan to help others when you can't even help yourself. Now get back up on your feet!" Tigress ordered her oldest son with authority and without sympathy, either not noticing his state of fatigue or simply not caring.

Hao tried to stand but was having difficulty with all the muscle fatigue he was experiencing. Having not trained in months, his body was not used to this amount of strain. "Mom, I'm sorry, but I can't do this… You ask too much of me. I'm only meant to be a noodle chef…"

Tigress was about to scold her son further, but refrained from doing this as she noticed how impatient she was getting. She knelt down to be at eye level, "Hao, I know I already told you this at the shop, but I believe in you. When you were younger, you dreamt of becoming the worlds greatest chef and a respected Kung Fu Master. You have become one of the worlds best chefs, I couldn't be prouder of you for it. But I also want to see the same passion for martial arts which my son held not too long ago!"

Hao was hesitant, but nodded to this and forced himself to his feet. His Mother's words almost always gave him confidence, and now was no exception. He would do this for the sake of his friends, his family, and for everyone.

Tigress smiled at her Son's perseverance. She then prepared herself and said, "Remember your training Hao, it will help to save your life and the lives of others around you."

He nodded to this and prepared himself in a stance which his mother had taught him. Calming his mind and allowing his body to be loose and ready for anything. He took a deep breath and replied, "I'm ready."

Tigress began the spar by throwing out a series of easily countered blows. Every time Hao would properly defend himself she would ramp up her offense to take it up to the next level. After a couple of light sequences, Tigress began to challenge him much more intensely, hitting harder and faster than before. But this time Hao was ready, his mental state allowed him to react quicker and even throw a couple punches of his own.

And so the training continued, with Hao making progress for the better and reattaining his former martial arts prowess. But the question was, would it be enough?

* * *

After having done a full circle of the Palace Gardens, Mariko looked to the Leopard beside her, "Thank you for spending time with me today Haokan. I know you probably have a lot of other things to attend to being the Emperor's son and all."

He shrugged and replied, "You could say that, though I don't actually have as many responsibilities as you would think. I mostly just show up to public appearances and wave at people while making a fake smile, never anything that exciting. Otherwise my father still does the more important matters of running the country, I have a feeling he does it because he doesn't want me to…"

She raised a brow, "Hmm? And why's that?" She asked as she noticed his expression change to that of disappointment.

He seemed hesitant to answer at all, his father's personal matters were none of her business, but he knew Mariko was trustworthy enough to confide in, "Because my Father doesn't want me to inherit the position of Emperor. He never says it to my face but I've heard him say it to his advisers when he thinks I'm not listening. I knew it would come to this since he still blames me for Mother's death."

Mariko looked at the Leopard with pity, for she could scarcely imagine a father resenting his own son like this. She remembered Haokan having told her about his father disliking him when they were younger, but it seemed the relationship had not been mended over the course of two decades.

"This must bother you a lot Haokan, do you think he'll ever pass on the title of Emperor?" She asked, though she already had a good idea what his answer would be.

"No, I don't think he ever will." Haokan answered simply, feeling no need to explain anything more.

Mariko didn't know how to continue the conversation, so she staid silent, taking in the last few moments that she would have with Haokan for quite a while. These moments felt precious to her, she had longed to spend time with him and now that it was a reality she was disappointed that she would have to leave in a matter of minutes.

"Haokan, can I ask you something?" She asked, changing the topic as they walked along whilst still holding paws.

"Yes? Ask away." He answered simply as he turned his head to face her.

"With all of this talk about an upcoming war, are you scared at all?" She asked as she looked on towards the sunset.

"Yes." He answered very simply but assuredly, then continued, "I am scared of what is to come. I've never imagined the country going to war with another, I just pray that we will triumph and that we will still have a country after everything passes. What about you?"

"I'm also scared. I've trained my entire life to be able to protect others and to protect myself. But this time I feel like none of it will be enough. If this army is as big as Dad says then I fear nothing will be enough." She replied while definitely looking nervous.

"Really? That surprises me because I thought all you Kung Fu Masters are fearless and hardcore." He answered having not expected this response.

She giggled a bit, "You know my Dad used to use that expression? He would always call Mom the most hardcore Master in all of China, which to be fair she was and kind of still is. But even though we seem brave all the time, everyone fears something deep down."

He chuckled a bit, "You sound like those crabby old nobles who Father always complains about. Just like you, they seem to have all sorts of wise knowledge to share with others."

She raised a brow with a smile, "I sound like an old noble?" She asked, exposing Haokan's poor choice of words and making his face turn bright red in embarrassment.

"Ah! That's not at all what I meant! What I meant to say was-" He tried to explain in his own defense as he stumbled across his words.

"I'm messing with you Haokan, I know what you meant by that, but the way you worded it isn't very flattering to say the least." She interrupted him with a giggle at his mistake.

He looked at her with a flabbergasted expression, 'Gosh, women can be weird sometimes…' He thought to himself as he settled down and continued walking with his companion.

The two continued to walk in a peaceful silence as they each took in the evening atmosphere which was slowly casting a shadow over the now much more silent city. One would say this was a very romantic moment for the two felines, and they would absolutely be correct, only neither of the felines truly thought that. They were simply happy to be able to share what little time they had left.

As they neared the end of the pathway through the gardens, Haokan asked, "Mariko?"

To which she looked to her side and replied, "Yes Haokan?"

"Stay here in Beijing with me. That way you wouldn't have to go to war." He answered as he stopped walking and looked her in her Jade Green eyes.

She looked down and contemplated this, after a good moment of thought she answered, "I'm sorry Haokan, but I can't. I have to do this, for all of China. I have a duty to help in any way I can, I owe it to everyone to try."

He was disappointed with this answer, and he attempted to persuade her differently, "You don't owe anyone anything Mariko! You've helped save so many people and have risked your life for their harmony. Can't you see that I just want to you to stay safe?"

She shook her head, "You're wrong Haokan, I do owe it to everyone to fight this battle. I don't think I told you, I am likely one of the reasons that our country faces war with Mongolia in the first place."

"What do you mean? How could you possibly be responsible for this Mariko?" He asked, clearly not buying her reasoning.

She sighed, "Haokan, I haven't told you before, but I once had a twin brother named Genji. I won't go into the specifics about how he was corrupted, only that I had a lot to do with it. When one day he lashed out at me out of jealousy and hatred, he nearly killed me and likely would have had my Dad not stepped in and saved my life. After this, Dad banished Genji from China where he then fled to Mongolia. In my dreams of this upcoming battle, it is him who I see leading legions of soldiers into battle against our country."

Haokan questioned whether or not Mariko was telling the most absurd lie he had ever heard. 'Who has a Brother who tries to kill them? And her father banished her brother to Mongolia!? This whole story sounds like a tragedy tale…' He thought to himself while inspecting Mariko's expression to see if she was really telling the truth. But he could find no such signs that she was lying, which amazed him. "Wait a second, so you're saying that your brother tried to kill you once and now he's the one leading the Mongols? This is the craziest thing I have ever heard!"

"It's true Haokan, my brother has always had a deep hatred and jealousy for me. And it is all my fault." She replied while shedding a tear as she relived the awful memory.

He placed a paw on her shoulder and guided her to sit down on a bench in the gardens. "Mariko, how could you possibly be at fault for that? From what your saying, your brother's hatred of you was completely unfounded!" He argued.

She shook her head, "No Haokan, it really is my fault. Ever since we were cubs Genji was extremely competitive. He and I sparred all the time together, but each time, I would defeat him, even despite the fact that he trained twice as hard as me and was stronger and faster. Dad would always give me more attention than Genji, and when Dad would scold him for his resentful ways he would only grow more jealous of me. Eventually, one day about a year ago this time of year, he came back from after our spar and nearly beat me to death like it was nothing. Mom says that my back was cracked in half, the front of my skull had been shattered, and I had many lacerations all over my body. Dad later told me that Genji had been possessed by some demon that increased his power and brought out his darkest emotions…"

Haokan seemed unsettled as he listened to Mariko's story, but had many questions he wanted to ask. "Wait up a second. Did you say that your brother cracked your back in half? How are you able to walk!?"

"Remember that technique I was showing you earlier?" He nodded and then she proceeded, "Well, Chi can be used to heal other things besides just flowers. My dad knows the technique so well that he was able to heal my most serious injuries before anything really bad could happen." She answered.

"Wow, that is really cool! So now you say that your brother is possessed by a demon and is leading the Mongol army?" He asked his last question.

She nodded, "Yes, I saw it in my nightmares. They were so realistic and horrible each time. I just pray they don't come to fruition."

Haokan was careful about what to say next. He didn't want to add another negative comment or make the moment any more unpleasant. "Hey, Mariko. Whatever happens, I know you will do your best to make things right. I believe that if there is anyone who could redeem him again, it would be you."

She raised a brow and asked, "You really think that?"

"Yes, you seemed to not entirely blame him for lashing out at you, and you also seem to feel guilt and remorseful for him being banished. I can tell that deep down you still consider him your brother." Haokan answered sounding more philosophical than Mariko had ever heard him before.

"Also, on a side note, can you please promise me something Mariko?" He added.

She nodded, which made him continue, "Please promise me that you won't do anything rash or bold. I care deeply about you Mariko, and I don't think life would be the same for me knowing that the one I love is gone."

This was not what Mariko had expected the Leopard to say. She blushed a bit at hearing him refer to her as 'the one I love'. She answered awkwardly, "W-well, that will be a tough promise to keep when I'm out fighting in a war."

He chuckled, "I guess it was a long shot. But please just don't do anything stupid out there Mariko. You were the first person who I came to appreciate in this world. And I know we only recently reacquainted, but I'd like you to know just how much you changed my life all those years ago."

Mariko was flattered knowing Haokan cared this much for her like she did for him. She really didn't know how to reply to this, and so instead she responded by hugging him tightly. So tight in fact that she didn't realize him gasping due to being squeezed too much in her embrace.

She let him go to allow him to breathe and apologized, "Sorry, I got carried away."

He shook his head and did something she did not expect, that was hug her back. "I never said to let go Mariko." He answered calmly.

This confused her, but instead of questioning his actions, she leaned into the embrace and chose to enjoy it while it would last. For she knew that any moment now her Father would come looking for her. And sure enough, the two were interrupted when they heard someone clear their throat from nearby.

They released one another and Mariko glanced over at her father who looked like he had been here for a short while. His arms were folded and he had a raised brow with skeptical smile about him, no doubt because he was questioning how he felt about what he had just witnessed.

Mariko looked back to the Leopard, "I'm sorry Haokan, I have to go now." She told him with a disappointed tone of voice.

"I know, just remember to take good care of yourself Mariko." He replied as he waved her goodbye.

She then had a compulsive urge and kissed the Leopard on his cheek before backing up and meeting back up with her Father who was waiting for her. Haokan rubbed the spot on his cheek, and looked back at her with a knowing smile.

She mouthed the words 'I love you', to which he nodded and waved at her one last time.

Po was still looking skeptical as his daughter arrived at his side. "Ready to go?" He asked her as he noticed her looking back at the Emperor's son.

"Yes. Let's go."

* * *

 **A/N: I wasn't expecting this chapter to be quite this long, but I guess I got carried away. Hope everyone likes it! If you're enjoying this story so far, be sure to favorite and follow to stay updated on future chapters/updates. Be sure to leave a review as well, any feedback at all I can get from the viewers helps me to know what you guys like and don't like about the fic. Anyway, the next chapter will be released soon so stay tuned yall!**

 **-Ace_Risk**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Amassing Arms

 **Altai Mountains-Mongolia**

Cold, cold, and more cold. It seemed that this already harsh climate could not get any worse, but these were the peaks of Tavan Bogd, and were not known for their hospitality. Accompanied by the dreadful cold was a strong wind that blew shards of ice and rocks from the nearby cliffs, as well as provided a stinging chill to any who would cross this domain.

However, besides the unbelievable climate, there was another thing that occupied these clifftops, a maximum security Prison named Chorh Gom. A prison notorious for having held some of the most dangerous criminals from all of Asia, from the lights of the infamous Wu Sisters, to the terrible Fenghuang, to the now redeemed Tai Lung. Even now, behind the walls of this fortified prison the cells remained occupied by dozens if not hundreds of the most repulsive individuals of the era. Thieves, rapists, murderers, and genocidal maniacs the lot of them many of whom had spent decades behind bars.

At the entrance of the structure stood several enormous doors where an entire legion of guards known as the Anvil of Heaven were stationed. These guards were known to be some of the toughest in the province making any form of breach or jailbreak unlikely, but not impossible as history had shown. There had only been several escapes from this prison in recent times, each of which had catastrophic outcomes, however, safety parameters had since increased.

Besides the cold winds, the sounds of chattering teeth occupied the clifftops near the entrance. A Rhino guard was noticeably struggling as his body was clearly not acclimated to the bitter environment. He looked fairly young as his horn was not fully grown out like the most of the other prison guards.

His noticeable discomfort was starting to draw the attention of his supervisor, another Rhino who like him wore traditional prison guard armor which didn't provide much in the way of warmth. "You hanging in there rookie?" Asked the elder.

"Yes s-s-s-sir" Answered the younger Rhino unconvincingly while still shivering from the cold.

The supervisor shook his head with a knowing smile, "It's okay kid, you'll get used to the cold soon."

"I s-s-s-sure hope s-s-s-so…" Replied the new recruit before continuing, "Honestly I'd-d-d rather b-b-b-be an inmate in a w-w-w-warm cell than this-s-s-s."

"Hah! No you do not. There's not a single person who would want to be in one of those cells. For starters, the floor is made of rough stone that cuts at your feet, then there's the shackles that make permanent marks on your wrists, and to top it off you only get fed once every three days. Need any more info to persuade you that being an inmate here is the cruelest form of punishment?" Answered the supervisor.

"Well, at least I'd be w-w-w-warm." Answered the young buck impulsively before getting cut off by his boss, "You'd be dead. A sentence to this prison is basically a sentence to death. Some inmates have been locked behind these walls for more than 20 years now, one of which will spend the rest of his life at the bottom of the chasm with his arms and legs bolted to the floor, does that sound like a fate you would want?"

The younger guard who now shivered not only due to the cold, but also out of fear, simply shook his head in denial. 'Yeah, maybe this isn't so bad after all.' He thought to himself before being overcome by another wave of chill by the winds.

"Just as I thought." Stated the supervisor.

As the elder finished his point, the two Rhinos heard the sound of marching drawing nearer from the prison entrance. The next moment, the two large doors to the complex swung open and out emerged a troop of up to 30 guards. This was highly unusual and far from standard procedure at this early hour of the day. Typically, the exterior of the building was more heavily fortified with guards during the night hours as visibility in these mountains would become even more difficult with the ever growing darkness in the sky.

The platoon marched onward past the two confused sentries and stopped at a nearby watchtower. It was then that the supervisor noticed the Prison Warden who was now designating specific stations for the guards to protect. Tired of the lack of communication, the supervisor went to address the warden about this commotion.

As he approached, the Commander turned to face him, almost as if by foresight. "Why are you away from your station soldier!?" The Warden asked without restraint.

"Sir, I'm just wondering about what's going on, these events are highly irregular-"

"Word's come in from the capital to be on high alert. They fear that our enemies to the north are planning an invasion, so I'm doubling patrols and enforcing the exterior to prevent any breach. Now return to your station, we can't afford to let our guard down for a second." Explained the Warden while turning his attention to the assembling forces that were now assuming a defensive perimeter around the prison walls.

This news was certainly an unpleasant surprise to the supervisor who had worked at this Prison for many years in a row and had yet to see security beefed up to this level. The last large cataclysmic event that had occurred at this prison had been the escape of the former villain Tai Lung, but that had been quite some time ago now, and since then the Anvil of Heaven had been expanded, and the walls strengthened. However, he knew that these parameters were certainly not enough to repel an entire army of soldiers from Mongolia.

Returning to his post, the Supervisor was much more uneasy than before. 'An invasion? Why now?' He thought while staring at the snow covered rocks below in a trance.

To his side was the new recruit who mirrored his supervisor's state of mind, "Is everything alright s-s-s-sir?" He asked, having still not adapted to the cold.

The elder Rhino looked up, his thoughts having been interrupted by the question. "Fine. Everything is fine kid." He lied as he then looked back down.

* * *

 **In a Nearby Location**

It had been a long and arduous journey from their base camp on the outskirts of the Gobi Desert, however, at last Genji's forces were arriving at their destination. It was a good thing his soldiers consisted of warm blooded mammals, otherwise many of them would not have been able to withstand the harsh climate. Even so, some who could not keep up had to be left behind, and some had even perished due to the strain of the journey. This trip was beginning to cause unrest among even the highest ranking individuals in the army. Rumors of betrayal and mutiny were circulating throughout the ranks.

Genji knew that his Soldiers would not stand for this much longer, but having finally arrived at their target it seemed that good luck was upon them. Only a half a mile ahead Genji could see red lights emitting from a structure built into a mountain through a thick snowstorm which hindered visibility. For any normal travelers it would have been well secluded, but Genji was far from an ordinary traveler.

"Halt!" He shouted while holding his palm up and signaling his army to stop marching.

They did so, and a moment later Genji was accompanied at his sides by his new personal guards who hard formerly served his predecessor Jian. "Yes Master?" One asked as Genji stared at the formation up ahead.

"We are here. Have the troops set up camp, and summon commander Diavol." Genji answered while folding his arms.

They nodded and went to adhere to his wishes, all the while he watched the Prison from this vantage point. It seemed that this snow storm would provide good cover for an ambush. And even now, he had already developed a plan on how to neutralize the protective guards at the gate.

"You wished to speak with me? Lord Akuma?" Asked a voice from behind.

"Yes, Diavol, you may approach." Said the Striped feline with his back turned.

The commander did as requested and now stood at Genji's side. "What is the status of our forces?" The feline asked while staring off at the hollowed peak up ahead.

Diavol hesitated, thinking very carefully about what to say, "The men are strong, and ready for battle sir. They are eager to face the enemy." Stated the commander, trying to avoid talking about the rumors within the ranks of the army.

"That is very good. They will soon have their chance." The Tiger replied before continuing, "As it stands, conquering this prison will be too difficult with all of the parameters in place. My guards and I will cripple their defenses to ensure that we take the prison with minimal harm to our own forces."

 _"I still don't understand why capturing this Prison strategically helps us."_ Diavol mumbled to himself, slightly too loudly as it turned out.

"Look around you." Said Genji whilst still staring at the hollowed mountain ahead.

The Commander did so and saw the many soldiers preparing tents and shelters for as far as the eye could see. "We have the numbers to invade China, but what we lack is weaponry. Were we to march into Chinese territory with only spears, swords, and bows we would be destroyed within weeks. There are machines used by the Emperor's military that shoot metal faster than an arrow flies, and that is only the start." Stated the Feline from behind.

"This Prison contains the weapons needed for a siege. It also contains some thousand inmates who we may recruit to our ranks. That is our reason behind this assault." Stated Genji whilst turning back to face the Prison located on the nearby plateau.

This explanation made good sense to Diavol, though he was skeptical about recruiting the lights of criminals into the army it was logical to acquire new weaponry and military hardware to aid in their invasion.

"How do you plan to neutralize the guards? Surely they will be prepared for an assault." Stated the Wolverine while stroking his chin.

"Leave that to me. In the meantime I want you to keep watch of the Prison and wait for my signal to commence our attack." Genji answered vaguely whilst now turning around and heading towards the camp the troops were setting up.

"What signal-" Asked the commander before being interrupted, "You will know when you see it."

With that, the Tiger went on his way to find his personal guards leaving Diavol hopelessly confused and conflicted. He, along with many of the other high ranking individuals in the army had questioned the Tiger's loyalties ever since his rise to power. Sure, he had helped to earn the respect and loyalty of the other Mongolian clans, but he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and climbed the chain of command far too quickly for their liking.

Even so, he couldn't deny that the Tiger's methods were effective, for this was the first time in generations that the Mongolian army was in a good position to take over the Asian continent. And a victory at this prison raised their chances even higher.

Once reunited with his guards, Genji stepped out of the camp and briefed the guards on his plans, "As I'm sure you are all aware, this Prison is well guarded by the Emperor. I do not wish to lose too many of our forces unnecessarily, and thus I have come up with a plan to infiltrate the Prison and shorten the numbers of guards so that we may succeed with minimal casualties."

The guards all nodded in agreement with one asking, "How do you plan to infiltrate the Prison without raising an alarm, Lord Akuma?"

"Just follow my lead." Said the Tiger with a growing smile.

* * *

As the snow storm raged on, it provided excellent cover for Genji to infiltrate the structure. Visibility was greatly hindered by the constant snow fall, and any at all noise was nullified by the fast winds. Using the environment as his camouflage, Genji made his way to a cliff near the entrance while being closely followed by the Lionesses. It overlooked the two large doors, and of the many hundreds of guards defending it.

Turning back to face his kin, he said, "I want you all to remain here and keep out of sight until I return. It is crucial that the guards do not detect our presence."

The felines nodded in agreement, and Genji then made his way down the cliff side towards the doors. He knew that he would draw too much attention were he to open the doors on his own. And attention was the last thing he wanted right now. He would have to wait for a patrol to pass through, from there he would tag behind and remain undetected.

It took many minutes of waiting, but after nearly half an hour a patrol went to enter the structure to be swapped out with another equipped with more rested guards. This was his chance. Using the fog and snowfall from the storm as concealment, he stealthily tagged from behind the patrol as they marched through the now open doors. Once inside, he quickly made his way left toward a small building, sticking to the training in stealth given to him by his Mother.

Making sure the coast was clear, he scaled the miniature structure and got a better look at the interior of the prison. It was quite dark, with few torches illuminating various pathways and corridors, though the most prominent feature was the massive chasm at the center which led down some 3000 feet bellow the entrance. It was in this hole that all of the inmates were kept in confined cells, excluded from the outside world, and left to rot behind the cold steel bars.

But that wasn't what the Feline was looking for. In fact, what he was looking for was located directly behind him. The prison armory where all weapons equipment for the guards was kept. He knew this much due to the scrolls he had read about the Prison when he was a student at the Jade Palace. Wasting no more time, he made his way to the side of the door to the armory. There were no guards stationed at the doors, but he suspected there would be behind the walls. Knowing this, he came up with a simple but effective idea to divert the guards out of the armory.

He took a small chunk of rock from the nearby wall and threw it through the window of the armory. Right on cue, a group of four Rhinoceros Prison Guards stormed out of the door to find the intruder. But they did not see anyone outside, and before they could raise an alarm, they heard a swooping sound from behind. They each looked back and only saw a blur as they were each consecutively paralyzed within a second.

Genji had practiced this move for many months back when at the Palace before his exile. Nerve attacks were especially complex Kung Fu techniques, and mastery of them would on average take the user years to perfect. However, to a prodigy such as himself, they were much less tedious to learn.

With the victims incapacitated, he moved the bodies into the armory where they likely would not be found for some time. And once inside, Genji grinned at the sight of all the weaponry and hardware. It was a massive room, resembling a warehouse of sorts littered with all sorts of military arms and equipment from the lights of melee weapons, to projectile weapons, but all were overshadowed by what Genji had come looking for in the first place. A separate room inside the armory, dark and quite secluded, it stored many barrels of a powdery substance.

"There you are." Said Genji to himself as he walked inside the dim structure.

This substance was known as Gunpowder, and was commonly used to build fireworks and other festive materials. But as of recent times, it had been innovated into weapons technology such as canons and explosives.

Looking beside the barrels, he saw many units of dynamite, no doubt excess from the Prison's contingency plan to explode the above stalactites to collapse and prevent escape. But now they would be used to destroy the guards rather than the prisoners. Knowing he had to go back out, he took only a few before leaving the armory and arriving back at the front gates. There were lots of patrols around the area, many more than before, but these would not stop Genji from his goal. He tailed a platoon that made their way outside the gates into the blizzard to replace the fatigued troops. Once outside, he quickly headed back to the rendezvous point he had set earlier.

Arriving at the cliff edge from before, he did not see his guards in the vicinity. "You may all come out. I have what we need." Said the Tiger to the surrounding area.

Surely enough, his guards all came out of hiding and joined him at his side. "We now have the means to create a diversion for our troops to attack efficiently." He continued while holding up the multiple explosive devises he had raided.

Handing one of them to each of his six guards, he explained, "The next phase of my plan is to plant these explosives at the roof above of the platform near the entrance. From what I saw inside the prison, the Warden has diverted nearly three quarters of his forces to protecting the gate from the outside. If we can destroy the overhang above the entrance, it will take out the vast majority of the guards and allow us to take the Prison with minimal effort."

With their instructions, the Lioness' nodded and followed Genji higher up the mountain. As the elevation rose, the already harsh conditions of the climate intensified, but regardless, the felines continued up to the top of the cliff. Once on top they spread out the explosives across the entire span of the overhang, maximizing the blast radius.

Once the task was complete, they retreated back to remain out of range of the explosives. Genji looked down to see the unsuspecting guards bellow, a wicked smile crept across his face as he summoned his Dark Chi energy. Harnessing the destructive energy, his body began to radiate a familiar crimson aura. Once he had gathered enough energy he released it in the form of a beam which shot directly at one of the explosive devices. When the beam made contact, it caused a blast that sent shards of rock and snow flying in every direction, making his guards duck and cower away from the ensuing explosion.

Within seconds, the rocky platform dislodged itself from the rest of the mountain and immediately plummeted down to the platform where the prison guards remained. The guards had heard the blast, but had no time to evade the falling debris which came crashing down and crushing nearly all the unlucky souls.

On the other side of the gorge, Commander Diavol witnessed the massive rock fall like a meteor onto the Guards. He knew without a doubt that this was the signal Lord Akuma had told him to look out for. Without wasting a moment, he called the soldiers to arms and led an attack on what prison forces remained standing.

In minutes, Diavol's forces had made their way to the platform where rock and snow littered the ground, along with the corpses of hundreds of deceased Rhino guards. They then engaged the remaining guards in battle while more Rhino's exited the front doors to enforce the exterior. But it was quite fruitless, for they were now overwhelmed by the Mongols who not only had the element of surprise, but also a massive advantage in numbers.

As the fight continued, Genji and the Lioness' made their way down the mountain to the ensuing conflict. Having arrived back at the plateau, Genji grinned as he watched the Rhino guards fall one after one. He made his way to the opened doors, passing many of his own soldiers who were locked in combat.

Once inside he was attacked by a few straggling guards, but this hardly posed a challenge. He quickly disposed of them and kept walking forward deeper into the structure. Passing by the cells of some of the inmates, he watched as they clung to the bars and tried to get his attention. They knew that the Prison's forces had fallen, and this was their chance at freedom. But they did not concern him at the moment. There was something else besides them, besides the weapons that he had come for.

At the center of the chasm was a pulley lift that led to the bottom of the hole. Boarding the lift alongside one of the Lioness' he ordered, "Take us down."

The others nodded, and one cranked a lever which in turn began to lower the mechanism. It took many minutes to descend to the bottom of the chasm, the hole became darker with every meter they dropped. The only thing Genji could now see was an isolated platform with an indefinite drop on all sides. At the center of it, a single prisoner.

The lift had reached the bottom, and Genji proceeded to step off and onto a narrow stone bridge towards the platform. "Wait here." He ordered the Lioness.

He approached the platform slowly as he did this, the Prisoner who had formerly been staring at the ground looked up at him. It was the same face he had seen in his reflection through the water. A Komodo Dragon with a red gem in one of its eyes with its limbs bolted and chained to the floor.

~"You're quite quick. Genji Ping."~

The Lizard spoke with a weakened and raspy voice.

* * *

 **A/N: My god! It's been nearly a year since my last update on this story… I'd love to say I have an excuse, but I really don't have any. Regardless here it is! After the long wait it seems Genji has taken over Chorh Gom Prison, the same one that held Tai Lung in the first movie. He is one step closer to conquering China, and he has now met the demon Akuma. What will happen next? I hope to upload more regularly from now on, especially during quarantine while I'm available.**

 **If you're new to the story and are enjoying it, be sure to favorite and follow to stay updated on future installments, and if you've read it, be sure to leave a review and let me know your thoughts! I'll only continue if I keep receiving feedback.**

 **-Ace_Risk**


End file.
